0:00:15.695,0:00:21.892
SB: Welcome. Hello everyone. [br]Today Dan and I are going to be ...

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– let's see if we can get this presentation going...[br]all right, all right, cool! Ha, ha ... –

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So, above all welcome. Today we're going to [br]be talking to you guys about

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changing perceptions, motivation, [br]students, efficiency, effectiveness

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DN: Whoa, whoa, whoa, Sean! [br]SB: What?

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DN: Do you have any idea how many words [br]you just put in the audience...?

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SB: Yeah! Oh!

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DN: Let's clear things up a little bit.

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What are the main ideas[br]we're going to be talking about today?

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SB: OK, all right, fair enough.

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How about perceptions, students, [br]math, themselves...

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Yeah, something like that.[br]DN: Ok, that clears things [up] a little bit better.

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But can you organise the ideas

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so it is perfectly clear to the audience [br]what we are talking about?

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SB: Ok, I'll take care of that. (Laughter) [br]Sorry, so, I get a little excited.

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Talk about changing perceptions of math [br]by teaching students to teach themselves.

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DN: All right, here we go! Much better.[br]So, as our title screen just showed you,

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how we organise words affects [br]how we understand

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the very meaning those words [br]are meant to convey.

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So if we don't take the time [br]to organise words,

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we can be very overwhelmed and confused

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by something like this, instead of having...

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yeah, that's overwhelming and confusing.

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Instead of having something clear [br]and understandable, like this.

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So the next thing we want to talk to you about,

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is how prior organisation of words

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can affect how we understand [br]and perceive new words

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and the ideas those words [br]are supposed to represent. So...

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SB: Ok, all right, so you know [br]what I want to say?

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Did I tell you that Marcy [br]and I are getting a dog?

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DN: Yeah, I don't think this is the proper time [br]to talk about that!

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SB: We got the time! [br]DN: But I guess we... (Laughter)

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Actually, this is kind of embarrassing, [br]but I don't really know what a dog is,

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er, can you explain?

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SB: Dan you're a high-school teacher [br]and you don't know what a dog is?

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DN: Hopefully none of our students[br]are watching. (Laughter)

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SB: Alright. I mean, you guys, [br]stay with me on this.

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A dog is, you know, four legs, [br]has a head, furry and can lie down.

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I mean we all agree, right? [br]That's what a dog is. Dan?

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DN : Don't you guys already have [br]already one of those things?

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SB: Oh my, Dan! [br]You're blowing this presentation, bud!

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Come on, man, let's get it together.

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What do you think, can you draw a picture [br]for this people of what you think it is?

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DN: this.. ugly table with a '70's shag cloth,

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in the middle of you guys' living room, [br]that's a dog, right?

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SB: Dan! How can you confuse four legs..? [br]I.. You know ... I don't even..

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This is a dog, Dan. It's got four legs, [br]it barks, it goes woof...

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DN: Aw! I've seen one of those before.

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SB: All right. Dan you've got [br]to fix it for these people!

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They.. you got it. [br]How did you confuse a dog into a table?

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DN: Ok, well, you said four legs. [br]Furniture has four legs,

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... lies down, folding table, OK?

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Furry, '70s shag carpet, [br]you can put that on a table,

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Clearly that's a dog, Sean. [br]That's a dog!

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SB: Dan, I'm actually not... [br]I'm not even mad, I'm actually impressed.

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How you did that is beyond me.

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Four legs: How about an animal? [br]Dan, did you stop to think about that?

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Furry, lies down... THAT is a dog, Dan!

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OK? Got it? All right! So, what this is meant [br]to illustrate is dog vs. table.

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This idea is, schema is the very ways [br]we organise words in our brain,

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especially the organization of prior words [br]affects how we perceive new words.

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in the case of math, where it's even more abstract, [br]this gets challenging.

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You know, in this case I could show [br]a picture to Dan and be like,

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"Oh this is a dog, got it?" All right! [br]But how about in math?

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where we're like, [br]"Ok, hey, come here, quadratic formula!

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Come on kids, pet the quadratic formula!"

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Or, "Did you see that pesky quadratic formula [br]running across the street yesterday?"

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I didn't think so. All right? [br]As ideas get more abstract,

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we ourselves need more set [br]and firm schemas.

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Dan's going to talk a little bit [br]about how that looks in math.

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DN: So, based on dog vs. table,

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what is the key component to correctly [br]perceiving and learning mathematics?

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Developing proficiency with number use [br]seems pretty important,

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memorization of processes [br]seems pretty important,

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cognitive organization of math words [br]seems pretty important,

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but Sean, I realize you didn't know [br]what I put in D there.

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I'm sure the entire audience wants [br]to talk about spaceships. So...

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SB: Don't... Just stop! [br]He's going to try to show you

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through a schema how [br]he can connect perceiving and learning

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all the way to spaceships [br]and now you're gonna let him do it.

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DN : All right, all right! [br]SB: Dan please, let's get to the point.

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DN: Ok. So the real answer's actually C.

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Based on this, Sean and I wondered:

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what are the math words [br]that students actually have to organise

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as they're going through their education?

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Well, what we did is we went through [br]the common core standards.

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Now if you're not familiar with them, [br]these are a set of standards

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that are sweeping across [br]the entire United States,

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almost every state has begun [br]adopting them in some way.

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These are the words that a kindergartener [br]is expected to know,

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at least to have in their vocabulary [br]based on the concepts in those standards.

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OK? Then we move on to first grade. [br]Now we realize you'll never

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be able to read all these, [br]but I just want you to get the big picture.

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OK? Let me move on to second grade.

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And we're just going to jump up [br]to sixth grade for you.

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You'll notice a similarity [br]between this and our title screen.

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It's pretty overwhelming as you can see, [br]why some students

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get to sixth grade math and go, [br]"I'm done, can't do this anymore."

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So, what we wondered was, [br]is it possible to organise these?

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Well, not only is it possible, [br]we've actually done it.

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So, instead of having a confusing [br]mess of words,

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you can cognitively organise them [br]based on definition.

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Right, so when a student is [br]on the first grade

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instead of having a bunch [br]of words strewing around,

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they start connecting them [br]to everything else.

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Now we're going to jump up to sixth grade again [br]for the second time,

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now we realize you can't see [br]everything on there.

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However, things are now organised. [br]So they can perceive and understand

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all this information in a proper manner.

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The observation that Sean [br]and I had from this was:

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well, what if they don't know [br]any of these words?

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what if they don't have one [br]of these connections?

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What if one of these connections is connected [br]in a not-so-efficient way?

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So, what we thought was, [br]not only will it affect their success,

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but if they're overwhelmed [br]by all this information,

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it's going to affect their confidence [br]in mathematics

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and it's going to affect their motivation [br]to even try mathematics.

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So Sean, do you want to give a little context to that ?

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SB: Yes, I will try to give you guys some context.

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So stop, think for a moment:

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what is an activity, a job or an interest [br]that you are personally doing right now

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that you feel very confident in? [br]I would imagine that if I asked you to list

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a whole series of words [br]that were related to that,

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you could give me a long list,

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you could even describe to me [br]how they were connected.

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Imagine when you first started that. [br]What if Dan and myself gave you a map?

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What if we showed you [br]how those words were connected?

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How would that have affected your perceptions?

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How would that have affected your motivation?

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How much quicker could you've gotten [br]to the level you're at now?

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With that, we're going to show you [br]how this works in our class:

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all critical terms plus organization [br]leads to effective perceptions

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which help to drive [br]motivation and success.

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DN: So, as Sean just said, [br]we are going to talk about

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how we created an experience [br]in our classrooms

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where students can now cognitively [br]organise information,

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effectively perceive information

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and have an overall clear [br]understanding of mathematics.

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Now, just like this basic outline here,

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what we do is we get our students to move [br]from something that's scary and messy

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– this is like kindergarten information –

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into something that's organised [br]and understandable like this.

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So, as you said before, [br]we start off with vocabulary.

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Ok, we'll show just a few terms up here, [br]in just a moment,

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that you've probably seen before.

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We're not going to test you, don't worry!

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You're after TEDxHonolulu stuff, [br]it's not going to be dependent on passing a test,

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but from gaining to go through and build[br]their vocabulary in literacy with these,

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we then have them start mapping them out, [br]based on definition.

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In kindergarten, [br]the starting point is normally numbers.

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And then from there, [br]we have our students go through

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word by word and look at the definition,

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and you can actually see connections [br]in those definitions:

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Whole Numbers, Counting, Place Values, [br]all have numbers in the definitions.

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SB: So, you can start to do as you saw [br]with operations as expressions,

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– I'll just go back real quick – [br]kinda show you what that looks like.

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We can even start to hit them [br]with more terms

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and they start to know where to place them.

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What we've categorized [br]in this slide is a tipping point:

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you can see that as you get more and more, [br]it starts to become more and more clear,

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without even showing them math, [br]how these ideas relate.

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The best part is that they can do this [br]on their very own.

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Dan now is going to show you what it looks like [br]when we show them math content.

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DN: So, notice, we haven't done [br]any math problems yet.

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Our students now [br]have a big picture understanding

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of how everything is related. [br]They are not quite as overwelmed

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when we start presenting them with activities, [br]labs, examples that they go through on their own.

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So, we do a thing in our class where essentially

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when I go through this content, [br]they make a tweet.

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Now if you're not familiar with Twitter, [br]and hopefully all of you are now,

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essentially it's just a quick [br]little visual and a phrase

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that attaches to that word.

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So for example with numbers, [br]they might say something like,

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"How many? Give a few examples."[br]OK?

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And then they run the whole numbers [br]and an observation they might make is,

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"Zero, count up by one." [br]I give a quick little example.

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This continues on and on, [br]but we realize sometimes

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two things can come up at once.

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Now that they have a structure in place,

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they can now handle working with multiple ideas [br]at the same time,

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and know how this content fits together [br]to create an overall big picture understanding.

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So, we move from something [br]that's kinda scary like this

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into something that's organised [br]and makes sense like this.

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Now some of the effects [br]this has had on our students is,

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they now have this perception [br]in their mind of –

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"Ok, well, if I see this word, I know [br]what content's connected to it from my tweet.

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If I see this word I know [br]what other words it's connected to

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and the content that's connected to those,

0:10:10.714,0:10:13.608
instead of this disorganised mess [br]that's in their heads sometimes

0:10:13.608,0:10:16.701
when they are doing things high-pressured [br]like taking a test,

0:10:16.701,0:10:19.982
ACT, PSAT, things like that.

0:10:19.982,0:10:22.569
So, Sean is going to show us [br]some more results.

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SB: So, what does this afford us [br]in our classroom?

0:10:25.019,0:10:29.160
As far as performance goes, [br]we've completely and entirely

0:10:29.160,0:10:33.168
started getting our students [br]to teach themselves, OK?

0:10:33.168,0:10:36.186
Stop and think about that: [br]actually teaching themselves,

0:10:36.186,0:10:40.697
that can go on to any other class. [br]So we've created a lasting student achievement,

0:10:40.697,0:10:44.687
regardless of whether they connect [br]with the next year's or following years' teacher

0:10:44.687,0:10:49.212
or then they go off to college [br]where it's lecture blaze, hands-on –

0:10:49.212,0:10:51.963
they can actually have the confidence [br]to teach themselves.

0:10:51.963,0:10:56.359
The most amazing part is: we've managed [br]to do this without lecturing.

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That's right! [br]Not one day of standing up like this

0:11:00.720,0:11:03.252
towards you guys right now, lecturing.

0:11:03.252,0:11:05.367
In fact, if we had it our ways, [br]we would have just given you

0:11:05.367,0:11:10.268
the list of words of how to do this [br]and we would've had you start building the map, all right?

0:11:10.268,0:11:13.645
But for you non-teachers, [br]our students come in every day.

0:11:13.645,0:11:16.957
They sit down, they start working [br]in collaborative groups,

0:11:16.957,0:11:19.680
they're on their own and they start [br]working with the words.

0:11:19.680,0:11:24.024
They make their own connections [br]and they start to start problem solving

0:11:24.024,0:11:27.066
creatively, entirely on their own!

0:11:27.066,0:11:31.257
So Dan's going to share a little with you [br]how this has affected his algebra class.

0:11:31.257,0:11:34.170
DN: So, this kind of the mess [br]I can hear of teaching:

0:11:34.170,0:11:37.426
I'm an emergency hire, which means [br]I've no formal teacher training whatsoever.

0:11:37.426,0:11:41.892
Last year in my freshman algebra class, [br]my passing rate was only 52%.

0:11:42.000,0:11:44.084
Now, after implementing this,

0:11:44.084,0:11:49.187
I have moved from a 52% passing rate [br]all the way up to an 86% passing rate.

0:11:49.271,0:11:55.159
(Cheers) [br](Applause)

0:11:55.197,0:11:57.285
(Laughter)

0:11:57.285,0:11:59.653
SB: I've been teaching geometry now [br]for five years.

0:11:59.653,0:12:02.199
I originally came over with Teach for America,

0:12:02.199,0:12:03.806
for those of you that are familiar with that,

0:12:03.806,0:12:07.779
I came over in 2006, [br]the first quarter I actually came to Hawaii.

0:12:07.779,0:12:10.621
I was placed to Waipahu, [br]I did my two years, I stayed longer

0:12:10.621,0:12:13.463
'cause I enjoy the students here [br]in Hawaii so much.

0:12:13.463,0:12:14.855
They're great kids out here!

0:12:14.855,0:12:17.129
For those of you who haven't had an opportunity [br]to be in a classroom,

0:12:17.129,0:12:19.182
they're amazing!

0:12:19.213,0:12:23.080
I've never been able to break 60% pass rate [br]in my geometry class,

0:12:23.080,0:12:26.675
which has driven me nuts! [br]Last year I actually almost quit!

0:12:26.675,0:12:29.942
I had applied, took my LSAT, [br]I was looking at law-school and then

0:12:29.942,0:12:32.482
Dan and I started thinking [br]about these ideas [br]

0:12:32.482,0:12:36.786
and I've been able to move [br]them from 58 to 89%.

0:12:36.786,0:12:40.208
(Cheers) [br](Applause)

0:12:43.685,0:12:47.029
DN: So, the next class we're going to talk [br]to you about is statistics and probability.

0:12:47.029,0:12:49.383
It's a new course at the school [br]that we started,

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so there is no previous statistics on it.

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However, the book that we're using [br]is a college textbook,

0:12:54.618,0:12:56.961
the students are currently [br]teaching themselves college material,

0:12:56.961,0:13:02.531
and I have all of my students passing [br]my class right now.

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Dramatic! [br](Applause)

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The next group, I'm most proud of, [br]as for the reason I joined Teach For America,

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for those of you who're not familiar with them,

0:13:16.065,0:13:17.980
you leave your undergraduate

0:13:17.980,0:13:20.849
and you go to schools [br]where students face many challenges.

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Many of my students face things [br]from teen pregnancy to domestic violence,

0:13:26.158,0:13:29.408
homelessness, health care issues,

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the list is long and very long.

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Because of this, we've had to come up [br]with new ways of teaching.

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There's a lot of teachers doing great things

0:13:38.695,0:13:41.985
but one thing we're proud of is, [br]because we don't lecture,

0:13:41.985,0:13:44.774
we can actually work [br]with each student one-on-one.

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So instead of asking, [br]"Hey, how is that math problem going?"

0:13:47.674,0:13:50.231
we move beyond that [br]and we can now ask students,

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"Hey, how is everything in your life going? [br]Everything all right at home?".

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And now that students instead of walking [br]in our class going, "Oh, God, math!",

0:13:57.860,0:14:00.983
they're like, "Oh, hey, I know [br]Mr. Briel and Mr. Nash care." All right.

0:14:00.983,0:14:04.839
Just that simple question has allowed me [br]to move from 12%

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to 65% and these [br]are students that had failed math 2, 3 –

0:14:09.453,0:14:12.677
I have actually quite a handful [br]of 4th time in algebra!

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And now they at least come to class [br]and they feel that they can learn.

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(Applause)

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DN: So, what does this actually afford us?

0:14:27.227,0:14:30.242
Well, by organizing ideas, [br]we've been able to change and shift

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our perceptions of what learning actually is.

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So, from this, we've actually been able [br]to create a classroom experience

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that allows our students to organise ideas

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and change their perceptions of learning,

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and now we have a class where our students [br]are learning how to do things like

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critically think, creatively problem-solve, [br]all on their own, instead of listening to me talk.

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And thank you for all listening. [br]I know I'm kind of boring.

0:14:54.367,0:14:59.257
On top of that, we as teachers [br]have also been able to re-establish

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our value in the classroom.

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Instead of just our content-area expertise, [br]we can now create an experience

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for our students [br]where it's completely them doing everything

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and we're just there to help them through it.

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So, and on top of that, what's kind of even more [br]impressive to us is

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now we have students who are seeing [br]the value of learning and education.

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Next two quotes [br]we're going to show to you are quotes

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directly from our students [br]about their experience in their classroom.

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First one says, [br]"Now, since I had this class,

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I think smart is just organised.

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If everyone had a mental map [br]and organised every idea,

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then everyone will be as smart as the other."

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This is from a student who is currently [br]taking algebra 1 for the third time.

0:15:36.735,0:15:38.746
So, the next quote:

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"The day we are born, we pick things up, [br]learn, and we adapt.

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We understand things based on the ideas [br]we have learned.

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Our understanding of new ideas changes [br]based on the way

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we organised past experiences and ideas.

0:15:51.598,0:15:53.807
If one of our experiences [br]or ideas is a bad one,

0:15:53.807,0:15:58.288
then it will affect how we perceive [br]new ideas or experiences.

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We can use maps to change [br]the way we organise things in our mind

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to see all the possibilities in our lives."

0:16:04.026,0:16:07.311
This is from a second-time student in algebra 1

0:16:07.311,0:16:10.596
based on the experiences [br]they've had in our classroom.

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So, what has this afforded us?

0:16:13.882,0:16:17.352
Well, we believe we've been able [br]to actually start developing critical thinkers

0:16:17.352,0:16:22.143
by teaching our students to organise ideas, [br]recognise how they organise these ideas

0:16:22.143,0:16:25.887
affects their perceptions. [br]And this goes way beyond the classroom.

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Imagine: thinkers that understand [br]and recognise the very ideas and the power

0:16:32.753,0:16:34.899
and how they organise them

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will affect the possibilities [br]they see in their very lives.

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Think of the impact [br]this would have on individuals:

0:16:41.228,0:16:44.738
individuals would recognise [br]that all they needed to reach

0:16:44.738,0:16:47.595
the possibilities in their lives [br]would be the critical terms,

0:16:47.595,0:16:52.284
the time to organise them [br]and just the time to see it all materialise.

0:16:52.284,0:16:55.377
Imagine the impact [br]that would have on communities:

0:16:55.377,0:16:58.764
communities can come together [br]when individuals meet!

0:16:58.764,0:17:01.385
They will recognise that, [br]"Hey we don't disagree,

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these are just perceptual differences!

0:17:03.331,0:17:06.079
We can take the time to collect the words [br]from everyone's maps

0:17:06.079,0:17:08.671
and come up with powerful solutions.

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They're not just to address just one perception [br]but many perceptions."

0:17:11.690,0:17:14.608
What impact would this have on society?

0:17:14.608,0:17:19.644
Think about that: a whole society [br]where everyone's coming together.

0:17:19.644,0:17:23.589
It's because of this [br]that we think developing critical thinkers

0:17:23.589,0:17:26.420
is not only necessary for our children,

0:17:26.420,0:17:29.386
but ourselves as well!

0:17:29.878,0:17:34.409
The most important part is – [br]we believe developing critical thinkers

0:17:34.409,0:17:39.171
is the lifeline for individuals, [br]communities, to society

0:17:39.171,0:17:43.550
to become what they want, [br]can, dream and should be.

0:17:43.550,0:17:45.496
Thank you very much.

0:17:45.496,0:17:48.467
(Applause) [br](Cheers)