Change is tough, but change is good. We are going through a lot of changes as a math department right now as our department chair is moving on, and in general, people just seem to be asking more questions that go against the grain of "the way we have always done it". I am certainly one of the people initiating these discussions. The "Pay Attention" video that we were asked to watch really hit home with me. I long to have my students do so much more than to just memorize useless mathematics. As a PBL teacher leader at my school, I am torn between a new, inventive approach to teaching and the style of math instruction that I am use to. I deeply desire to infuse my class with excitement, relevance, curiosity, and technology, but I feel trapped by the strict requirements within the department. My goal is to be more assertive in my department and to stand up for what I believe is good teaching. I desire to be given the freedom to make my classes my own, and I know that I can be trusted with that freedom. I just must stand up for what is right!
The video below is entitled "Student Mentors Teach Game Design", and it shows how video game design is used to teach the STEM contents in an urban school. I was drawn to this video because I had my geometry students first semester create the concept for a new version of Tetris that used all of the various types of quadrilaterals that we were learning in that unit. In the future, I would like them to be able to design a mock game that can actually be played, and so I was drawn to this video.
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