Sign the Pledge!

Ok, this is my soapbox, and I want everyone who can to go and sign the pledge to help overturn Proposition 8 – that little bit of discrimination that was written into the California constitution.

Click Here: Courage Campaign

In time I think this will go the way of internment camps and blacks and women not being able to vote, but it will take an effort. Far from being a “mandate” as some of its proponents suggested, the vote was much closer than that. And since the proponents seemed to favor the same type of fear tactics that the McCain Campaign unsuccessfully used, perhaps when the facts are considered things will change.

I leave you with Keith Olberman’s comment: Special Comment

Testing in Calculus

I have decided on a variable format for my tests in my Calculus BC class this year. There will be four main types of testing formats that I plan on using.

1. Traditional individual test: The tried and true. I tend to write tests for calculus that are short answer. I know some people believe strongly in writing multiple choice portions so that students get some practice before the AP exam in May, but I always felt this was a poor reason to use them. On occasion I do use multiple choice questions, but I make them “enhanced.” Generally this means, for me at least, that if they choose the correct answer they get full credit – no questions asked, so to speak – but if they choose the wrong answer I look at the work they have done in the space provided and assign partial credit based on how far toward the correct answer they got. My feeling is that if the students understand the material, and they learn how to attack new problems, then we can spend a short amount of time right before the AP exam talking about the format and that is sufficient. My track record of AP scores thus far seems to justify this philosophy.
2. Group portion plus individual test: My first test this year was in this form. The students were given twenty minutes to look through 5 problems. Since the class is relatively small, only 8 students, I let them all work together. In a larger group I would probably split them up. They were allowed to do work on paper or on the whiteboard in the room, although they were told the boards would be erased and any paper collected. At the end of twenty minutes, they were seated individually and given the official test paper which included the five questions plus some additional ones. They were asked to choose four of the problems they had worked on and provide the work for them. The rest of the test was a typical test.
3. Take-home portion plus individual test: Students were handed a take-home section of the test to do the night before the test was scheduled. They were told what resources they could use, and also that they should not use more than an hour of time (and the problems should actually take significantly less than that). We have an honor code that we use at the school, so I trust that they will follow these guidelines. Naïve? Possibly, but I feel it necessary to give them the chance first. They turn in the take-home portion the next day and take an abbreviated in-class portion.
4. Oral test: I have not used this yet this year, but I have used it a couple times in years past. Given the discussion based atmosphere during class, this seems like a reasonable method of assessment. It is likely that I will include an individual portion of some type – either take-home or in-class. I usually tell them the topics that will be addressed, and give them several problems to “prepare.” They present one of the prepared problems, usually randomly chosen, and then I have a list of other problems that they randomly choose from and solve on the spot. I am usually looking for their presentation of the math, understanding the concepts, ability to answer questions relevant to the problem, and flexibility of thought – particularly on the randomly chosen problem. This is, obviously, the most class-time intensive method so I intend to do it only once, or at most twice, this year.

As should be obvious, I am a believer in having the students have at least some type of individual test so that I can see their thinking on problems on their own. Depending on whether it is attached to another component it generally has from 4 to 10 problems on it. It seems that the assessments this year are coming about every 50 problems in the problem book, so that would work out to about 9 assessments for the year, not counting the semester final. There is no final exam in Calculus BC at our school since the students are taking the AP exam.

Another thing is that my questions range from problems they have seen before to problems that reflect concepts and skills they have practiced to problems that are extensions to the material they have seen. As I mentioned earlier, I deliberately do not write my tests to reflect the “AP style.” My primary goals are that students learn calculus and learn how to attack new problems. If they are successful in both, then I have no fear about their ability to do well on the AP exam without a lot of formal prep for it.

Since I anticipate the oral test being interesting, I will post a specific entry about how that experience goes after I do it.

Marry Our Daughter

Check out Marry Our Daughter. This country has issues with gay marriage, but apparently selling your teenage daughter is okay. Go figure. As the father of a daughter I am disgusted that anyone would do this. Apparently the Bible says it is okay, so that makes it all good. Another example of cherry-picking from that book to justify what you want to do anyway. Sick.

Update!: Ok. I fell for it. I can admit when I have been had. What is sad is that I am usually the one that checks on this stuff when I get the stupid email in my box. There is an entry for this on Snopes.com that labels this website as a hoax. Of course, the sad part is I still think it could be true. At any rate, I’ll swallow my humble pie and slowly back out of the room. Until next time…

Update on my cameras

Well, for those of you who have read my earlier posts, you may remember that I was having cameras and microphones installed in my classroom so that I could record what goes on, particularly with respect to discussion. Sadly I have the cameras mounted – and they do a great job of capturing nearly the whole room – but there has been some issues with including the microphones. Since I wanted to capture the discussion, the pictures tell less than half the story, and I have yet to begin. Hopefully this will be finished during November.

Of course, on the bright side, I have had no time to review video yet so that’s okay!

I am ashamed

While I am exceedingly happy that Barack Obama will be our next President, I am incredibly ashamed to be a resident of a state where a majority (of those who voted) are willing to write discrimination – based on religious reasons – into the state constitution. I am talking about Proposition 8 in California which defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. Who were the supporters? Major religious groups like the Roman Catholics and the Mormons. What were the reasons? Other than it being against their religion there were no good reasons proffered, and in fact most of the arguments they were making were exaggerations and outright lies. Learning about gay marriage does not make a person gay, nor does having it accepted.

This amendment, in one fell swoop, has taken away rights from thousands of our residents. In a country founded on democratic principles and the rights of the individual this is an abomination. Just as it was when women or blacks could not vote, or certain ethnic groups were denied the right to own property, or when citizens of Japanese descent were placed in internment camps. Some day, I hope, Californians will look back on this election and ask themselves, “What were we thinking!?!”

I am critical of most religions to begin with, particularly how the various Christian cults – after this amendment I consider them cults, not sects – conduct themselves. This has raised my level of contempt for them to new heights. If they do not want to recognize a marriage between two members of the same sex, that is well within their prerogative; nothing about the constitution before Proposition 8 required them to do so. However, they have now imposed their own religious ideology on all Californians. They have gained an ardent foe by this act. I have never been that active a political person, usually content to do my part by intelligently voting, but I will look for ways to overthrow or circumvent this discriminatory act.

So while I woke up this morning with a renewed sense of optimism about the country as a whole thanks to Obama’s upcoming presidency, I remain ashamed that while I live in a state widely considered as one of the most liberal in the country, they chose to embrace discrimination on the eve of the first term of the nation’s first black president.