My Blog Journey

Hello, my name is Nicole Markowski and I have been teaching middle school math for 21 years! I have taught 6th, 7th and 8th grades, but have been in 8th for the last ten"ish" years. (I start to lose track after a while!) 

In my school district we "accelerate all", which means we do not have a middle school honors program in math and all 8th grade students take Algebra 1, which ends in the New York State Regents exam, where they earn their first high school credit. Although this program has been successful and we have had a high passing rate, there is much debate surrounding the program. Many teachers feel there should be an alternate option for 8th graders who are not ready for the rigor of the Algebra curriculum or who have failed math in previous years.  With that being said, I am not here to debate the program, but to do my best to meet the diverse needs in my classroom... with a fast-paced curriculum and the pressure to pass a high-stakes exam. 😅

I absolutely love teaching Algebra, it is definitely my favorite type of math, but it can be a challenge teaching it to students who have struggled in math repeatedly year after year.  We do have block scheduling to allow for this acceleration and I am constantly looking for the right balance and new strategies to not only help my students succeed, but to keep them engaged and on pace!  Despite my years of experience, I am constantly looking for new ideas to use in the classroom. I continue to recreate the wheel every year because each year I hope to be better than the year before. 

This leads me to the research and methods I've come across recently.  Some of the ideas I've looked into are:

• Thinking Tasks, Thin-Slicing Problems, and Knowledge Mobility - ideas from the book  "Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathmatics, Grades K-12", by Peter Liljedahl. As a middle school math teacher, I highly recommend reading this book.
• Self-Paced Learning delivered through blended instruction, self-paced structures and mastery based learning - all ideas from the Modern Classroom Project.
• Choice and indepence with targeted small group insruction through the use of math menus or math workshop.  

I love trying new ideas and new teaching ways, but at the end of the day if I don't feel like they have understood a topic, but I need to move on, I go back to direct instruction and fall into that rut.  Don't get me wrong I do incorporate engaging activities like Scavenger Hunts, Stations, Projects, Self-Checking Digital activities, etc., but I am limited due to time constraints.  I often find myself behind where my colleagues are at because if students are not mastering a topic, I do not feel right moving on.  Other mentalities are "I need to get through the curriculum and I am teaching a new lesson every day".  I cannot get behind that.

So where does that leave me?  I am trying to find a happy medium where I take ideas and aspects of each of the methods listed above and carry them out in my classroom. After following various social media groups, two of the cons I see in following MCP or "Thinking Classrooms" is lack of administrative support and discipline issues/off-task behaviors. This always makes me uncomfortable. So while I am not ready to fully follow any of these methods, I am writing this blog to share how I incorporate different aspects of each and use what feels right for my classroom.  I will also share what worked and what didn't work, the pros and cons, the good and the bad.  I am also ALWAYS willing to here new ideas and feedback so please feel free to comment, share, etc.  I am excited about this journey!