Math with MM Basics

1. Homework – There will be homework assigned at the end of each class period. Although you could indeed do it in one night, I recommend that you break it up and do a little each night. Homework is, as the name implies, to be worked on at home, or during homework center. The purpose of homework is to practice new skills and keep skills you have already learned fresh in you mind. It is not, in this case, for me to grade for accuracy. The process of doing homework is much better served if you check them yourself and see what you have done wrong and then correct it. It is your responsibility to check answers, which I will happily provide. If you have major problems and cannot figure out what youπve done wrong on a certain problem, you should first ask a friend for help and then see me if you still canπt figure it out. If I hear there is a lot of confusion around the same problem then weπll work through it in class. Thereπs another really good reason to keep up on your homework, read onä

2. Quizzes – Since I donπt grade homework, I give frequent quizzes. The key here is that every quiz question is taken from a previous homework problem. If you have done your homework and understand what errors you made originally, you should be able to do your quiz. Quizzes are short, no more than 5 minutes at the start of class and usually have only one or two questions. Quizzes are taken without calculators and graded on a 1 to 4 scale. 4 is a perfect score, 3 has some minor errors such as incorrect math facts, 2 shows some problems with the underlying concept or extensive calculation errors, and 1 means the wrong concept has been applied.

3. Tests – Tests are given at the end of every chapter. We will take both team tests and individual tests. Individual tests will be graded both ≥high school style≤ with points and percentages, and by a rubric which will identify mastery of specific skills. Students scoring a 2 or below have the option to retake an individual test.

4. Working in Teams – We will continue to work with teams which I will switch at least at the end of each chapter, and sometimes more frequently. Your team is always your first resource when working in class. If no one in your team can answer a question, then one person from the team should raise a hand and ask me. Be forewarned, I will only answer a question if every team member has first been consulted and everyone knows what question is being asked.

5. Working Individually – We all know that everyone works at a different pace and this seems even more pronounced when we work in math teams. The golden rule of math teams is that everyone must be available to help one another. If team members who have more quickly worked through the task at hand feel as though they would like to work ahead, they may do so provided they remain available to their team. All team members should be working on some sort of math at all times.

The basic layout for an Algebra class with MM is as follows:

Quiz – 5 min maximum

Review of either basic skill or area of difficulty in last homework – 5 to10 min

Introduction of new skills, as appropriate – 5 to 10 min

Work in teams – 25 min

Quick review of new concepts and wrap up – 5 to 10 min