The+21st+Century+Educational+Designer+with+Rigor+in+Mind+-+Engel


 * __My use of the Manifesto: __**

As I looked through the manifesto of the 21st century learner I kept coming back to the idea of creating a rigorous learning environment. A rigorous learning environment promotes deep understanding with connections to critical and reflective thinking. As a math teacher I believe a student’s ability to be fluent in previously learned material is essential to them being a critical thinker and this allows their current learning to be rigorous. With an increased focus on rigor in my classroom students will be challenged. If they step up to these challenges I am confident they will find great success by becoming critical thinkers and entrepreneurial individuals. A student who is successful at everything that is laid out before them in a classroom is not being challenged; they will never reach their full potential unless their teacher increases the rigorous nature of the class forcing those students to grow.


 * __Artifacts: __**


 * Artifact 1: **For my first artifact I created a Google forms pre-review test to help guarantee rigor in my classroom. After my students take a paper pre-review test they will then flip over the test and scan the QR code on the back and enter their answers into the Google form giving me instant data based on their solutions. This will then allow me to assess their level of understanding and differentiate the lesson for each student. Each student will receive a worksheet or two with a review of the material and some practice to help promote a deep understanding. Those students who were successful with most or all of the questions on the pre-review test will be given a worksheet that will force them to be critical thinkers and extend their learning of the material from the previous chapter.


 * Artifact 2: **My Honors Algebra II classes during the second and third week of school are required to complete an algebra boot camp packet. The materials contained in the packet have already been taught in a previous class but may not be remembered by every student. Rather than me taking the first 15 minutes to reteach each topic before they work on their boot camp worksheets I am going to require my each group to become masters in one topic and present to their classmates. This will promote a deep understanding of that specific topic and it will require each student to be reflective about what they need to provide for the class to be successful. They will be allowed to use whatever they think will make their presentations successful.


 * Artifact 3: ** For a classroom to be rigorous a teacher must challenge their students to be both critical thinkers but also reflective learners. I am hoping to do so my requiring my students to reflect on every assessment (Quiz/Test) they take in my class. This will be done for two reasons: it will help them understand their mistakes and require them to find solutions to them, and it will also help them when they come back and study for either their next exam or their final. When students get back their graded assessment they will need to grab a 3rd color pen/pencil not already used on their paper and correct any mistakes they may have made. This can be done with their groups help or mine. After making all the needed corrections they will then take a picture of it using the app Genius Scan creating a PDF of the corrected assessment. Then they will open this PDF in Adobe Reader and will explain their mistake using a post-it-note. If they did not know how to fix the issue they need to go online and find a re-teaching tool (Kahn academy, purple math, etc.) to help them re-learn the material they did not learn the first time around during class.

