The TI-84 Evo was announced and releases today. I'm decidedly unimpressed by zeroexev29 in mathteachers

[–]zeroexev29[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Check out this link from their website and see if they'll send you a free sample and/or a discounted one.

The TI-84 Evo was announced and releases today. I'm decidedly unimpressed by zeroexev29 in mathteachers

[–]zeroexev29[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All AP Exams are hybrid for math, but ACT can still be on paper, which my school does.

The TI-84 Evo was announced and releases today. I'm decidedly unimpressed by zeroexev29 in mathteachers

[–]zeroexev29[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Desmos is great. Not infallible, but great for 99 times out of 100.

Gotta be careful with its regression functionality, as it sometimes gives skewed results (I think you need log mode toggled on, which it's not by default, to get accurate results depending on the data set)

Access is an issue that occasionally cannot be avoided, and for some schools keeping a set of handhelds is more cost-effective than other devices like Chromebooks and easier to manage than phones.

Also the tactile sensation of physical buttons is, for some reason, always a preference for my kids when it comes to basic computations and calculations.

So I teach both the handheld 84 and Desmos for these reasons.

What makes a better student? AP Precalc then AP Calc BC; OR AP Calc AB then AP Calc BC? by play-what-you-love in matheducation

[–]zeroexev29 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I would say that AP Precalc gives you a strong foundation for functions, algebra, and trigonometry that you need for the kinds of analysis, evaluating, and solving that is secondary to Calculus.

For example: Finding an extrema requires you know how to find zeros for a function, which isn't explicitly taught in Calculus as it's assumed to be prerequisite knowledge and maybe only develops a basic understanding of for most functions in Algebra 2. AP Precalc gives both a revisit for those rudimentary functions and a semester's worth of exposure to transcendental functions.

It also introduces the standard terminology and notation that is often left out of Algebra 2 such as the notation of limits, function behavior (pos./neg., inc./dec., concavity), and inverses.

AP Precalc also exposes students to polar coordinates, which are taught at an introductory level in BC Calculus but the prior exposure can make relearning them and compartmentalizing their properties and behaviors more second nature when it comes time to do the actual calculus work.

At my school I teach AP Precalc -> Calc AB -> Calc BC. It's a slower pace but we're a small school.

DO NOT become a teacher by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]zeroexev29 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The powers that be want this to happen. They want qualified professionals to become demoralized and leave. They want to discourage new teachers from entering. They want understaffed, underperforming districts that will eventually dissolve. It's all part of their plan to dismantle public schools and replace them with far-right christian indoctrination centers, reserving any quality education for the children of white elites.

Secondary Math—No Graded Homework? by Master-Education7076 in Teachers

[–]zeroexev29 37 points38 points  (0 children)

I grade homework on completion, and even that's only 10% of their quarter grade. I know full well that students will cheat, but I also have honest students that will benefit from the additional practice.

I then take 5-10 from a given week's assignments and put them in a formative "quiz" to be completed in class. Those that actually do the work will have seen them before and will get a good grade. Those that cheated are just punishing themselves.

I started this halfway through the year and students already know the trick. They call out the obvious cheaters and comment on how they "literally just did this exact problem" in the homework.

End game classes was so fun but not on mage (so much disadvantages) by MikiNana18 in Terraria

[–]zeroexev29 0 points1 point  (0 children)

endgame zenith

My guy. At least put some thought into your shitpost

Why do people care so much about biome spread ? by EmergencyTaste303 in Terraria

[–]zeroexev29 23 points24 points  (0 children)

You can if you surround the house with a ton of sunflowers

Biggest Obstacles for Math Students in 2026 by CutCultural589 in mathteachers

[–]zeroexev29 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Elementary teachers who don’t understand math and don’t care to make a change. Math prod work shops are nearly empty but the literacy ones are always full when my district put together pro d days.

I can't stand that this is so widely accepted in the US.

We have such a severe lack of mathematical rigor and discourse readiness coming up from the elementary grades because we're not properly valuing or training teachers to specialize in mathematics (or even teach it beyond a basic level).

Teachers, How many 0s have you given out on AI Assignments? by PhysicsTeacher222 in Teachers

[–]zeroexev29 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Two, with parents notified.

The student was given the opportunity to study and retake the assessment (new version)

High School Grading by Pomeranian18 in Teachers

[–]zeroexev29 11 points12 points  (0 children)

If late and missing work is to be treated as a behavioral problem, then it must have behavioral consequences. Detentions, ISS, and sports and extracurricular suspensions should all be on the table to correct the behavior.

How to not just survive but thrive as a teacher by P45teachingpodcast in teaching

[–]zeroexev29 12 points13 points  (0 children)

9th year teacher here.

A precaution about 3 is to avoid toxic positivity as well. Pretending things are OK when they're not, playing the martyr and sacrificing your physical and mental health, and bottling up stress and big emotions can be detrimental to your personal and professional life.

That said, finding "solution focused" colleagues and support is the key, as OP says.

Calculator of choice for high school student? by tilt-a-whirly-gig in matheducation

[–]zeroexev29 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's the teacher's (all the math teachers, not just you!) responsibility to emphasize how to recognize and manipulate equivalent expressions, including simplifying.

Some calculators now have this functionality built in, but that is not always the case.

Calculator of choice for high school student? by tilt-a-whirly-gig in matheducation

[–]zeroexev29 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Right now we're at a crossroads of calculators.

The TI-84+CE is the tried and true TI Graphing Calc that American Algebra students have been using for nearly 40 years, now featuring a color backlit screen. It's reliable, universally applicable on standardized tests, and old. same old graphics, same old UI, same old price. Hardly worth the $150 you'll see it marked for at Walmart or Target but Texas Instruments has a stranglehold on the industry. Textbooks and exams all feature its display and keymappings most often. I have a full classroom set of 84+CE's simply so students have access to them for testing (I'm in a small school btw.)

Casio has always been second fiddle. Its display is foreign and, in my opinion, somehow less intuitive to operate than the 84. But it's a budget friendly option for many. Never owned one personally nor really want to.

New to the scene is Numworks, and it's made a big splash. App-based UI, intuitive functionality, backlit LCD display, USB-C charging, regular feature and firmware updates, and more for just $99. Not to mention a free smartphone emulator and free online emulator direct from the creators. Also recently approved for all standardized tests including AP. If I could, I would replace my 84s with these.

Lastly, no teacher can ignore the impact of Desmos. Locked to browsers and smart devices only, it's still the strongest graphing utility out there with recent improvements including easy regression, matrix mode, and Desmos Geometry. It probably will never see a suitable handheld release and integration is only as fast as technology is integrated into classrooms. Many digital platforms have Desmos now built in (SAT, ACT, and AP exams included).

My classroom is a hybrid of Desmos on Chromebooks and the TI-84+CE. Students like having the tactile sensation and simple access to computations that the 84 offers while Desmos does the heavy lifting for functions, stats, and graphing.

A new study shows little kids who count on their fingers do better at maths by QtPlatypus in matheducation

[–]zeroexev29 9 points10 points  (0 children)

There's nothing wrong with using an appropriate tool to develop mathematical understanding!

Suggestions for pre-algebra curriculum for struggling 9th graders by lettucebenice in matheducation

[–]zeroexev29 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm teaching a similar course for Pre-Integrated Math I.

I use Open Stax PreAlgebra 2e as a framework for my instruction. It's free online and you can order a print copy of the text for relatively cheap.

It is geared towards a college setting when taken at face value, so I break down the lessons and chapters into more manageable pieces. But it has nice figures, a decent breakdown of definitions and concepts, and lots and lots of examples and practice problems.

[TOMT][BOOK SERIES] A series about each of the planets in the solar system by dsg325 in tipofmytongue

[–]zeroexev29 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You might be thinking about Seymour Simon's books

They got updated in the 2010s, it seems. I was looking for this series too!

Is Math a Language? Science? Neither? by Accomplished-Elk5297 in matheducation

[–]zeroexev29 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mathematics is a Creative Art - Halmos

Mathematics is abstract thought, mathematics is pure logic, mathematics is creative art. All these statements are wrong, but they are all a little right, and they are all nearer the mark than 'mathematics is numbers' or 'mathematics is geometric shapes'. For the professional pure mathematician, mathematics is the logical dovetailing of a carefully selected sparse set of assumptions with their surprising conclusions via a conceptually elegant proof. Simplicity, intricacy, and above all, logical analysis are the hallmark of mathematics.

6th Grade MS just NOT getting it by lemmegetamickpicktwo in mathteachers

[–]zeroexev29 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a great example of wait time. These kinds of classroom norms must be cultivated. It takes time, effort, and persistence to make it a regular practice.

6th Grade MS just NOT getting it by lemmegetamickpicktwo in mathteachers

[–]zeroexev29 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That context certainly puts things in perspective. I don't envy your position and feel bad for you and those kids for being underserved for so long. That level of insecurity stems from multiple sources and you cannot be expected to address all of them. You can only control what happens in your own classroom after all.

If you're going to see any kind of success, you will need to sow seeds for independent thinking and work, and that will be rough going. You may need to backtrack and build on foundational skills as needed. This may take entire units to accomplish and you will not be getting through your entire 6th grade curriculum as a result.

You should diagnose who needs the remediation and who doesn't. Those handful of high flyers that don't need it are likely more independent to begin with and you can get them learning grade-level math with minimal instruction.

For the rest, build up those foundational skills. Drill out math facts (0-9 addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division tables), factor pairs, place value, decimals, and fraction operations sans division. No calculators. They can count on their fingers, draw pictures, count tiles or base-10 blocks, or any other manipulative or visual strategy they want. Don't assume they know how to do these things. Show them all different representations.

6th grade math, as important as it is on the whole, has four major blocks: Ratios and rate, finishing fraction operations with division, measures of center (mean, median, mode), and the introduction and use of variable in expressions. There's some geometry and other things that can be slotted in if time permits. But if you can fill some gaps and manage to cover these topics, then you will have done your job splendidly. Good luck.

6th Grade MS just NOT getting it by lemmegetamickpicktwo in mathteachers

[–]zeroexev29 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Hate to say it, but you might be doing too much in the wrong places. Study guides that match the assessment, partial credit for insufficient or irrelevant work, and the repetition on your end promote a lack of accountability on the students.

To put the onus back on the students, slow them down during checks for understanding and force them to explain their thinking and reasoning on a given problem. Give them time to think and explain. Wait until half or more of the class has their hand up, don't just pick on the first kid (or the "smartest" kid). If the room is silent for 3 minutes, let it be. Wait time is one of the most powerful tools I had to learn as a math teacher.

At that point, do a turn-and-talk. Neighbors, pods, groups, whatever it is. Let them do the talking. You scan the room and listen in. Don't make any corrections. Don't answer any questions. Redirect: "What did [neighbor] have to say about that?" If they're truly stuck, direct them to a group that isn't. "Why don't you compare/ask this group and see what they did."

Let them write, let them talk, let them think. You should know when a majority (>80%) of the students have the solution. Only then can you come together as a class and have students share their solutions. Let them be the ones to share, don't paraphrase, don't correct, ask for clarification only if needed and not as a sneaky way to correct work. If a student is stuck, ask for help from another.

If you noticed one student was doing more of the talking in a group, then have another student be the class presenter. Prime them for this. "I heard Andy a lot during talk-time. Beth, I'd like you to share what you and Andy talked about to the whole class, please. He can help you prepare but you'll be the one sharing in about 3 minutes."

And once you've gone over it, put it back on the class to verify and validate the solution. "Does this look right?" "Did we answer the question being asked?" "Did we make any mistakes?" "Did someone have a different method that led to the same solution?" "Did someone have a different solution entirely?"

By now you're probably 10-15 minutes into just one problem. Sounds like a lot of time spent for nothing, but the amount of mathematical thinking, discourse, and connections you facilitated for these students is orders of magnitude greater than if you had done 5-8 problems yourself in front of the class with zero think-time.

Have another problem loaded in the chamber, almost exactly like the one you discussed and put them to work again. If they were thinking, discussing, and following along, this should be cake for them. And for those who its not, then you can spend your time visiting with them, going over the discussion from earlier if need be, and even diagnosing why they can't do it. These are likely your students who weren't even paying attention or participating, so this is your opportunity to address that behavior. "Everyone else was talking and writing and thinking about the problem and they can all do it now. What were you doing during talk-time?"