Shark Tank

This semester I have been in an algebra 2 class and we just finished one of two projects they do during the school year. I'm sure by the title of the blog you can guess what the project was. The project was Shark Tank. Students were split up into groups of 3 or 4. Each group had to assign roles to each student which would tell them what part of the project they were responsible for. There was the Director of Marketing who is in charge of the groups advertisements, Director of Finance who is in charge of the graph for the group, and Director of Sales who is in charge of the PowerPoint used to present to the sharks. Once they were in their groups they needed to come up with a product that they wanted to sell. The product needed to be something that could actually be invented or that the technology needed to make it had already been invented. They would work on this project in steps for two weeks and present to the sharks after that. 

Some of the math they had to do was to first figure out their costs. They had to decide on how much space they needed and the cost of rent ($12 per square feet), the number of workers ($10 x number of workers x 40 hours x 4 weeks), and the type of advertisement they wanted. These had a cost already set for them, but they needed to decide which one based on the cost. For example, for advertising, they could choose a Radio advertisement ($200), Billboard advertisement ($1000), or a TV advertisement ($2000). All of these costs would give them their fixed cost per month. Students also needed to figure out how much money it would cost to make one of their product. They had to research each item and come up with a cost to make their product (variable cost). These two prices would give them their cost equation which is the variable cost times x plus their fixed cost. Once they had their cost equation they needed to make a revenue equation as well. They had to decide how much they were going to sell their product for to make a profit. They could change any of the fixed costs along the way if they thought their costs would be to high. Once they had both of these equations they had to graph them to see how long it would take for them to make a profit and their break even point. 

Students really got into this project. Students were talking about this project as if they were actually going to make these items. This was great to see because it showed their passion for their product. Students had to make calculations and equations but were focused on how they could make their product better. Some groups complained about all the math but I think that most groups did not even realize how much math they were actually doing. Students came up with numbers that made their profits reasonable and were quite high. I think students realized that opening a business was hard but it was possible.

At the end of the two weeks I had the opportunity to be a shark and listen to a few presentations. Some groups struggled a little with the numbers and presentation but I was surprised with some of the products students came up with. Most groups came up with a product that either had something to do with their phone or with food. This honestly didn't surprise me but I did think that most of the products would be quite useful if they were actual products. I ended up "investing" in 4 out of the 5 products that I saw. The sharks were great as well. Not only did the students get into the project I think the sharks did as well. After getting to participate in the project I would definitely love to incorporate it into my class one day. Students loved it and I think it was a nice break from the "normal" class day. 

Semester reflection

            This semester has been one of the hardest semesters I have ever had. Teacher assisting has taught me so much but has been even more stressful than the semester when I took four math classes at the same time. Even though it is not quite over yet, I want to take a moment to reflect and share my experience with whoever is reading my blog. So here it goes.

My summer was not much of a summer. After my college classes were finished I spent the next month and a half subbing and volunteering at a high school. I was not yet in the College of Education and was getting even more nervous I might not make it in. I had to take the ACT again and I had to retake a chemistry class so I could get my GPA up enough to get in. Fast forward to the end of the summer. A week after getting a solid B in my summer course I was quickly accepted into the College of Education. The next day I was given my placement for teacher assisting at a High School. That night I contacted my CT and signed up for all my classes. I went to Professional Development the next day and got to meet my CT and the following Monday was the first day of school. Very fast pace and all of this happen within two weeks. 

Looking at the semester to come I was quite nervous. Talking to other people, I was warned that I might see a lot of fights at the school and to be careful. Starting at a new school is always scary even for teachers but I knew I had support from friends and family. After getting to know these kids, I couldn’t believe I was ever nervous to be there. They are some of the nicest kids I have ever met and they welcomed me into their school. They were open to me teaching them and kept encouraging me to teach. I was quickly able to get to know my students and gain their trust. 

As the semester continued my classes did not get any easier. Taking 17 credits worth of classes while teacher assisting was not the best idea I have ever had. But these kids I have been working with stared to really have an impact on my life. These students struggle so much with confidence in themselves and their ability in school. So often students would raise their hand to ask a question and would do the problem without me saying a word. They are so smart and have bright future ahead of them. As them semester continued, students found out that we would not be staying the entire year. This came as a shock to them and a few of my students refused to believe I would be leaving. I had students tell me that I was their favorite teacher. I had another student say that they would switch schools, so they could have me as a teacher. Another said they would protest me leaving. Others said that I had to get a job there and that they would write recommendation letters for me to get a job at their school. With only a few weeks left I am so sad to have to be leaving. These kids have stolen a piece of my heart and I don’t know how I will ever leave.

Looking back, I have learned a lot about myself and about teaching that I will use in the future. I have learned that there is so much that goes into making a lesson that maybe I had not thought too much about. One thing I have really been working on this semester is getting all my students engaged in the lesson and in the activities. I am good at making creative activities but now I need to make sure that all my students are engaged and working. One example was the Jeopardy game we played for review. I had the majority of the class engaged in the activity but not everyone was participating. Each group had whiteboards to write their answers on but there was usually one person in each group that was writing. Next time I want to use Jeopardy I will make it so the whiteboard moves hands each round. This way each person in the group must write and everyone must communicate with the person writing to get the answer right. Coming up with strategies, like the groups I choose or even the layout of the classroom, is something that I will take with me to the future.