Cal Armstrong

Cal Armstrong

I think I want to SMAK my kids

I’ve been thinking about how to assess my Grade 9 and 10 students this year … I did a lot of experimentation last year with my accelerated Grade 8 students;they were open to trying things out since acquisition of skills…

Working Groups

Before I start dealing with reflecting on the content of the classes, I’ve got two more aspects of PCMI to mention.The first is the most productive: The working group. Each of the teachers is assigned a working group in a…

Reflecting on Practice

Once we’re done the morning of math (with a brief coffee break) the teachers all get back together for an hour of math education pedagogy. Like the mathematics we cover, each year is something a little different. For example, in…

The 830 at PCMI

PCMI is a 3 week program; each day from about 830 to 1040 we have what can best be described as a math class. But it’s unlike any math class most people have ever had.Each day starts with its own…

Precursor to PCMI

I’ve had the opportunity to come early to Park City and help set things up: there’s actually a lot of infrastructure to put in to place. With (at least) 7 different groups running simultaneously around the conference centre, there’s the…

Going back six weeks…

So the end of school was a bit of a flurry and I left meetings early to head out to Park City, Utah (home of the Sundance Film Festival) to participate in the Park City Mathematics Institute for the seventh…

Do you want us to jing it?

The English language continues to evolve — jing is now a noun and a verb as far as my students are concerned.Jing is the free (or lost cost pro version) program for the Mac and the PC that quickly allows…

Paperless?

California’s recent announcement that they are moving to e-textbooks will mean a lot more resources for 1:1 schools. Right now, using a tablet computer means either having a CD copy of the textbook (now a departmental requirement for our texts…

Microsoft’s Live Mesh

One of the most successful tools I used this past academic year is Microsoft’s Live Mesh ( ), a cloud-based file-synchronization and desktop-replicator. I had signed up for it when it was in Beta and have never had a…

Three things…

I managed to sign myself up for a How to write a better blog online course. Because, dear reader, this blog isn’t just for you… no, this is to teach me how to be a better writer and a better…