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Thursday, June 30, 2005

So Long

I'm so glad we've had this time together,

Just to have a laugh or learn some math,

Seems we've just got started and before you know it,

Comes the time we have to say, "So Long!"

So long everybody! Watch this space in the fall for pointers to new blogs for each of my classes. Some of the students from this class will be mentoring the students in the new classes. If anyone else (former students or other mathophile readers of this blog) is interested in being a mentor email me and let me know.

Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu, and all those good bye things. ;-)

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Class Survey Results

The exam is over and we did a little survey in class. The results are below; 20 students participated. We also discussed the future use of blogs and wikis in this course. The consensus seems to be that the next class should have their own blog but there should be a link back to this one for the new students to see what the old ones did. We also talked about having students from this class volunteer to be mentors for students in next year's classes. I've got a few volunteers signed up already. If you'd like to mentor one or more of my classes (grade 10, 11 or 12) next year please email me or leave a comment below this post.

Without any further ado, here are the results of our class's survey. Please share your thoughts by commenting (anonymously if you wish) below .....

How prepared were you to write this exam? (Average score out of 100)
66.75%

How much effort did you put into preparing for this exam? (Average score out of 100)
67.75%

How good a job did your teacher do preparing you for this exam? (Average score out of 100)
89.55%

Did you have enough preparation using your calculator?
Yes   85%     No   15%

Did you have enough preparation without using your calculator?
Yes   65%     No   30%     Middle    5%

Was I too hard or too easy on you??
Easy   5%     Hard   0%      Middle   95%

What was the best learning experience you had in this class?

group work (14)review sites
math dictionary (8)quizzes
online quizzes (3)humour
lectures (3)clearly detailed lessons
Go For Gold assignmentshowing how math affects our daily lives and history
pre-testsusing stories to help us understand
this blog (6)

What was the worst learning experience you had in this class?

quizzestoo long getting back tests
online quiz (3)none (6)
class time too shortsun shining on the white board
learning too fastgroup work
this blog (5)web assignments
not always going over homeworktests
homework (2)exercises that have answers but not solutions

What suggestions can you share for next year?

no quiz for marks on blogproject work (3)give make-up tests
fewer jokes and storiesmore online quizzesmake blogging optional
more group work (4)tell more jokesgive take home tests
an extra class every 2nd dayhomework should count for marksdon't use the same exercise books
keep blogging (7)students should do more work at the boardmore class participation
more time on binomial theoremgive tests back ASAPkeep using the same teaching strategies
go over selected homework exercises in classhave a mentor for this class

It's interesting to compare the items that were considered both the worst and best learning experiences. Also, take a look at the list of worst learning experiences compared to suggestions for next year. Help me do a better job next year by commenting on what you see here ....

Friday, June 10, 2005

Gearing Up For The Exam!!

A whole lot of reviewing going on!!

Here is where you can login to the online quiz site to try your hand at the review quiz we made as a class.

There's lots more you can do to get ready for Tuesday!

Take this quiz on Probabilities of Compound Events.

Take this quiz on Conditional Probability.

Take this quiz on The Binomial Theorem and Probability.




Take this test on Combinatorics and Probability.



Take Harry Potter's quiz on Combinatorics. Try not to run into any walls. ;-)





Try this Probability quiz.

And finally, take your own customized quiz on a variety of topics we've studied. You can create customized review quizzes by choosing up to 15 questions from: Algebra, Trigonometry, Exponents and Logarithms, Geometry, Problem Solving and Graphs (Transformations). Create as many quizzes as you like and practice, Practice, PRACTICE!!! When you start each quiz a timer counts down from 50 minutes -- that's how you prepare for a timed test -- you take LOTS of timed tests! You can probably skip the Geometry questions and not all of the Problem Solving and Algebra applies to our course, but the kind of thinking you need to do for these questions WILL DEFINITELY help you gear up for the exam!

Remember, luck has nothing to do with it! It's all about doing your best! How well you do is a direct function of the effort you put into preparing!!!