My 'plan a' and 'plan b' for running math classes online

8/9/2020

Preparing to move the teaching practices I value into a synchronous online format hasn't been easy. While I have to change the platform of my classes (from in-person to online), I don't want to change the actual practices I use, because I know that they're really good for engaging students and causing long-lasting learning.

One of the things I've figured out through trial-and-error is that, if I'm committed to keeping to keeping tried-and-true practices in place online, I'm probably going to need a "plan A" and a "plan B" for each one. Things can go wrong on both my end and the students' end, so two options at any given time should help smooth out some of the rough spots.

Here, I think, are my plans for a typical math class.

Activity #1 - Activating Strategy
Stay tuned. This is actually my favorite part of teaching math, but I use a lot of different activating strategies, and I'm planning a whole post just on how I plan to digitize my favorites.

Activity #2 - Mini Lesson: "Connect," "I do," and "we do"

What I do in-person
When teaching new math concepts, I follow the Gradual Release format mechanically. It works great. I start by connecting back to any previous math that will be important to understanding the new topic, then I complete an "I do" example where the students just watch and think as I explain, and then a "we do" example where the students write it down and work though it with me. I do these on my interactive board. (Note, I actually "flip my classroom" and record this part of the lesson now, but when I do them in class, they're straight forward on my interactive board).

Plan A - Drawing Tablet
I bought a device called a "drawing tablet" that will allow me to write on my computer screen. I plan to pull up the interactive whiteboard software and use that to work and talk through the examples the same way I would in the room. The video to the right shows you just how easy these are to set up and start using.

What Is A Drawing Tablet And How Can You Use One To Teach Math Online?

Plan B - Paper and a Document Camera
I ran into some issues last week trying to use the drawing tablet across a two-screen "extended" monitor system. Plan B for this part of the lesson will be to simply print out the slides for my lesson and write on them with a marker underneath my document camera. I've done this from time to time in the past, and it works great! To the right, you can see an example lesson I've recorded this way.

Activity #3 - Mini Lesson: "You Do Together"

What I Do In-Person
After the "I do" and "we do" examples, I have students talk through a third example with a partner ("you do together"). They have to do this TOGETHER. They share a whiteboard and talk through the example as a team. When they're done, they show me the result, and I either pass them onto the next step in the lesson, or ask them to take another look.

Plan A - Breakout Room Whiteboard and Paper
For this part of the class, I intend to send students to a "breakout room" with a partner to work the example. They'll have the ZOOM whiteboard in the breakout rooms to collaborate. I might just be able to check their work there, or I'll have the option of having them write it on paper and hold it up to the camera for me to see.

Plan B - Desmos
Desmos is a free, online tool for teachers. It has a big range of possible uses, but for my needs here, I've simply created a single-slide Desmos activity with the example problem. You can see an example of what a student would see by clicking the link below. Then, students' submissions are sent to a "gallery screen" where I can easily see and check them.

Example Student Desmos Work Area

Sample Teacher Gallery View of Responses

Activity #4 - Mini Lesson: "You Do Alone"

What I Do In-Person
After a pairing successfully completes their "you do together" example, they split up and do a fourth and final example problem independently ("you do alone") to complete the gradual release process. I have students do these on index cards and place them in a designated spot in the room.

Plan A and Plan B
Plan A and Plan B will match the "you do together" options.

Activity #5 - Math Workshop

What I Do In-Person
After finishing their "you do alone" example, students move into the work/practice portion of class. During this time, I have a sequential order of activities they work on at their own pace over the course of 3-4 days. I give them what I've seen called a "choiceboard," typically having 2-3 choices for each level of activity. These would take some time to explain in detail. A sample board is linked below, as can a presentation I gave on the topic at a conference last year if learning about these interests you

Sample In-Person Student Choiceboard

Plan A - Take and Send A Photo
I think the easiest option here is going to be to have students take a photo (using their phone or the built-in computer camera) of completed activities and submit it in some way - texting it to me, posting it on a class site like Flipgrid or Seesaw, or submitting it on the learning management system.

Plan B - Desmos
I've also set up a Desmos work area for each choice on the choiceboard. If Desmos turns out to be a great option for other parts of the class, students should already be comfortable with it, and it probably offers the single easiest place for me to quickly assess understanding.

With the two options, my tentative first online choiceboard looks like this:

First Online Student Choiceboard

Put It All Together

If you think this sounds like a lot to manage, you're not alone! I have a lot of concerns, too. It will require students to move between three different tools (ZOOM, our learning management system, and Desmos), and me to move between four (the same three, plus the interactive whiteboard software.

I put together a guide to the first class for the students, which doesn't look as complicated when I see it all laid out, especially when you keep in mind that the choiceboard will last for 3-4 days. So when students log into class, they'll have this to guide them:

1. Join the class ZOOM

Join the class ZOOM

2. Check In

Look at the image below and choose the word that best describes how you're feeling right now.
Visit this link to report the word you chose. This will also let Dr Doblar know that you are "checked in" to class.
After you finish that, come back to this page and go to 3. Math Starter below.

3. Math Starter

Look at the two sets of models below. What math do you see? Write your ideas on a sheet of scratch paper.

Model #1	Model #2

Stop here when you've finished this. We will move on to #4 together.

4. Mini-Lesson - "I Do" and "We Do"

At the top of a sheet of blank paper, write the heading "What Does It MEAN To Divide By A Fraction?" Then, put down your pen or pencil and get ready to listen, think, and concentrate.

5. Mini-Lesson - "You Do Together:

Dr. Doblar will send you to a breakout room with a partner to work on a question. You need to work on this TOGETHER - talk about the question TOGETHER and work out a solution TOGETHER. This is important for learning!

Be respectful and helpful
Explain to your partner if they need help - this is ok
Let your partner explain to you if you need help - this is ok, too
Let all partners participate
SPEAK and TALK to each other - communicate!

You can show this to Dr Doblar to check in two different ways. PICK THE ONE YOUR TEAM PREFERS.

You can work it out on scratch paper (TOGETHER) and then old it up to the camera for Dr Doblar to see (WRITE BIG!)
You can work it out on Desmos here: https://student.desmos.com/join/2jgkjn

6. Mini Lesson - " You Do Alone"

This is a problem for you to work out on your own so Dr Doblar can see if you understand what we worked on today or not. It isn't for a grade - it is just to see if you understand. If you do, GREAT. If you don't GREAT. I just need to know. You can show this to me two different ways - PICK YOUR FAVORITE:

You can work it out on a sheet of paper and show it to Dr Doblar on the camera (write big!)
You can work it out on Desmos: https://student.desmos.com/join/8jr9vv

7. Math Workshop Time

Activity #1 - Illustrating Math

Illustrating math is to prove to Dr Doblar that you can SHOW how math works VISUALLY. You don’t have to provide a fancy illustration, but you do have to do your work in a way that SHOWS someone how the math works using visuals.

Choice 1

Use the green rectangle to create a model that SHOWS VISUALLY how to model the division problem below

You can…

Do this on Desmos https://student.desmos.com/join/kgepp2
Do it on paper at home and send a picture of your work to Dr Doblar (770-870-0766 or email)
Get a whiteboard app on your tablet or phone, do it on there, and send a picture of it to Dr Doblar
Do it in another way that makes sense and let Dr Doblar know where to find it

Choice 2

A chef has made 6 quarts of his famous pasta sauce. Each serving of pasta requires ¾ of a quart of the sauce.

Create a MODEL that SHOWS how to VISUALIZE 6 ÷ ¾ so that he knows how many servings of pasta he can make from his sauce.

You can…

Do this on desmos https://student.desmos.com/join/fhnebd
Do it on paper at home and send a picture of your work to Dr Doblar (770-870-0766 or email)
Get a whiteboard app on your tablet or phone, do it on there, and send a picture of it to Dr Doblar
Do it in another way that makes sense and let Dr Doblar know where to find it

Conclusion

I think it is important to remember that while teaching online is forcing us to change our platform for instruction, it doesn't have to change our practices. Translating practices to a new platform isn't easy, however. In the hopes of keeping things as in-tact as possible, I think having plans and fall-back plans will help me stay the course.

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