Just to remind everyone, my question is "Does implementing daily math journals improve students and teacher attitude towards math?" I have added the desire for the students to become more metacognitive but still not sure how to incorporate that element into the question.
Anyway, my informal observations and discussions with students as well as their basic journal responses have shown a definate increase in enjoyment in math as well as a lot more students understanding the concepts.
Now, I wonder if it really has anything to do with the journals as relating to my original question! I have been lucky enough to be a part of Tina's math pd and really have taken to the idea of "allowing them to forget". I realize now that I have been doing that! I noticed a change in attitude not just with implementing journals but also with my moving onto the more indepth 5th grade concepts. Hmmm...
Anyway, what I would like is thoughts on--
- Is my original question of using journals to improve attitudes still acceptable?
- Do I just add in the metacognitive part or make the whole question regarding metacognition?
- Suggestions on how to be more on top of journal entries for myself.
Lisa
Lisa Freeman,
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking you are on a new path given the influence of Tina's work. Maybe you need to let go of the journal thing and focus on that permission to forget stuff! It sounds intrguing and it sounds like you've already made some observations related to it that can be considered data. Don't give up! Everything you've done so far is still a part of your TIC project, part of the journey, the story you will tell because you are discovering new thinking based on past work. I would like to suggest you do a few weeks of the LtoJ stuff like Tina did last year, it would be interesting to see how this approach works with 5th grade compared to H.S. You can do a pre-test, then 5 questions a day each day for a few weeks, then post test, repeat cycle every two to three weeks...there's your data. Not sure if this is helpful. Consider it and modify!
Holly
I'm not really sure what the "permission to forget" is? My thoughts as I read your blog - if you continue with the journals, consider metacognition as your primary focus with attitude as secondary. In fact, if they improve metacognition, my guess is that attitude will improve as well. In response to Holly's suggestion, I love the idea of incorporating the L to J in 5th grade to see what happens.
ReplyDeleteGood Luck,
Treena