Meetings Term 2

Plus:

• Learning a new topic and revising a few things from last year.

Minus:

• We missed out on Prime Climb the last week of term 1 due to the Algebra test.
• So we feel like we should do catch up Prime Climb time. For example twice in one week.

Interesting:

• The new SNAP statistics games were fun.

Plus:

• Nice to see our friends again.
• The learning habit card game was fun.

Minus:

• No full day of prime climb yet, the cards are not as much fun as prime climb.
• One round of cards there was no snap at all. (Maybe you need to look harder for the connections, or the rules of the game need modification).

Interesting:

• The assessment in statistics will be in a group, and we were allowed to work in a group of 5.
• The learning habit cards were entirely new to us.

Plus:

• The card games were fun. I liked learning new games.

Minus:

• Lots of talking about things other than mathematics.
• At the start of lessons students take time to be quiet and listen to instructions.

Interesting:

• After we settled down we worked really well.
• I have learned a few new cards games and I have learned about PPDAC.

Plus:

• We are working in groups that we got to choose ourselves.
• We played with the new cards last week and it was fun.
• When Ms Allan was away we played PrimeClimb which we still love. We learn to multiply, add, divide and it makes your brain work harder and faster then normal. It makes us smarter!

Minus:

• The expectations are high, there is a lot of work to be done. The work is not too hard and most of us know what to do.

Interesting:

• NzGrapher is complicated but it is starting to make sense.
• With the PrimeClimb cards many of the matches were not just about the colour. It really made us think. Fractions had common factors which canceled so the numbers were tricky to work out instantly.
• PrimeClimb is more fun than the new cards. This might be because we need to learn how to play with the new cards. They are quite complicated with fractions, powers, and "x".

Plus:

• The card games were cool. Make learning easy and fun. Good revision of common factors.
• I like how we work in a team for statistics.
• It was good to have a practice assessment before the actual assessment.
• The instructional videos made by the teacher were great for catching up at home.

Minus:

• None :-)
• Ms Allan wondered if they were asking for help when they needed it, however, they were using the videos and helping each other.

Interesting:

• It took a while to choose our own problem, but we feel it was good for us to do so.
• Learning how to use NZGrapher.
• The chairs were in groups, then in rows. We like the rows because we can still work in groups but see the board easier.
• The rows will be good for the presentations.

Plus:

• We got to see other groups present and learned through what they did.
• Seeing the groups being marked helped us know what to focus on.

Minus:

• Stressful group assignment, because other people are not doing their work.
• We have to complete other group members work for them, because they do not contribute.
• It is hard when your friends are not pulling their weight.
• We miss PrimeClimb #primeclimb4life.

Interesting:

• For statistics you do group work so you get to know people in a different way.
• Statistics is confusing compared with mathematics. Algebra has a formula, but statistics is less straightforward.

Plus:

• We finally got to play Prime Climb again and we LOVE it.

Minus:

• Nothing.

Interesting:

• The new Algebra Solving Game was confusing. Some of the equations had x on both sides and we did know how to solve this type of equation.
• The statistics presentations were interesting: When I watched other presentations I thought we had missed some things. However, when I checked our slides, we had the same information. I had just forgotten about it. So, watching other people present their project helped me reflect on my learning.

Plus:

• Students felt the maths tasks were better than the science tasks.
• Some students stayed on education perfect all lesson, even when they had the option to play games, work on other sites, update their google site or work on their learning workbook.

Minus:

• Many students to not bring their devices, so I have to book them.

Interesting:

• I have not yet sorted how to give optional tasks, so students can choose what to do from my list. A few students felt they should do all the tasks as they did not like the reminders of uncompleted tasks. This resulted in easy tasks being completed, that perhaps were not the best use of time for the more able students. Food for thought, as they most likely completed them quickly and they may have been good consolidation.
• Very few students felt it was 'boring'. I noticed these students tended to be Maori and Pasifika. They are high energy and social, and felt Education Perfect did not allow them to be as social as the games did. I searched for Kowhaiwhai designed and Tukutuku patterns, and found nothing.

Plus:

• Statistics: we liked working in a group. We enjoyed watching other students present their projects.
• We like the PrimeClimb cards, the solving card games and the statistics card games.
• Education Perfect
  • It is another way to learn and get good grades.
  • It really helps with learning and can drastically improve grades.
  • It can help with science too.

Minus:

• Some days the class was not on task all the time.
• Even the leaders are sometimes off-task.

Interesting:

• Some students are better at working than others. Some are more easily distracted.
• Students get to choose how they learn.

Plus:

• We played PrimeClimb.
• Education Perfect is better than book work.

Minus:

• Sometimes Education Perfect is boring, because some students have used it often last year.

Interesting:

• Solving cards.
• Some students enjoy doing games at school and book work at home.

Plus:

• Playing PrimeClimb again.

Minus:

• Algebra is hard, we struggle with it.

Interesting:

• Starting Algebra again is interesting, as we did not expect to do algebra again this year.
• Lemon Law was interesting.

Plus:

• We learned something new: Simultaneous Equations.

Minus:

• Nothing really.

Interesting:

• Level 6 simultaneous equations seemed easier than the Level 3 scales questions.

Plus:

• We get to study a lot. It helps us to remember how solve equations.
• I use Education Perfect at home. (Claudia). I like the examples and explanations.

Minus:

• Solving lots of equations can get boring.
• We miss Prime Climb.

Interesting:

• Last week I could do simultaneous equations, and then this week I completely forgot how to do them.
• Education Perfect helps, but I don't enjoy it. (Maylis). I find it boring. I prefer the games like PrimeClimb.

Plus:

• We got time to study for the test.
• It is the last week of term, and the holidays are near.
• People are actually doing work, and care about the upcoming test.
• At the start of today's lesson everyone was quietly working for 25 minutes.

Minus:

• It was a bit serious, no Primeclimb.
• Some students were on holiday mode already and not serious enough.

Interesting:

• I forgot how to do simultaneous equations and how to factor quadratics. Revision helped me remember.