Building little communities in the classroom

It's been a while since my last post, and we're well into the middle of the semester with more exciting math to explore in our classes. I wanted to kick things off by sharing a wonderful classroom moment from this week's group activity. It's fascinating how we can pick up valuable teaching tips from professional development workshops and see them make a big difference in our students' behavior and confidence. Let's dive into a typical Monday at 10 am in my precalculus class. We were diving into the world of polynomials, learning how to find their zeros, discover linear factors, and tackle polynomial factoring one step at a time. But here's where things got interesting: I decided to ask the students to count out loud and remember their numbers. Starting with "1," one student, the next one with "2," and so on until "7." We'd then restart the counting. The students with the same number became a group. This simple activity worked wonders in breaking the ice between students who hadn't interacted much throughout the semester. Let me take you to Group #7, which had three members: David, Angel, and Michelle. Right from the start, they were in deep discussion, checking calculations, and taking notes. When I approached them to ask about their progress, David gave a general answer but pointed out that Michelle had all the detailed calculations in her notebook. As time was running out, I asked if one of them wanted to tackle questions 1 and 2 on the whiteboard. With enthusiasm, they chose Michelle to take the stage. She confidently explained the procedure, I offered a few corrections, and the whole group was fully engaged. Members from other groups took turns at the whiteboard. I revisited Group #7 and asked if one of them wanted to tackle the final question on the board. Angel stepped up, and his teammates eagerly checked everything he wrote. Suddenly, Michelle rushed to the board to lend a hand and quietly corrected a mistake with her marker. At that moment, I exclaimed, "This is what teamwork is all about!" I expressed my desire to see more of this collaborative spirit in our class—students having each other's backs, helping one another learn and succeed. I encouraged the rest of the class to observe and learn from this heartwarming anecdote. This experience demonstrated how we can uplift each other as individuals. I shared this story with one of my mathematician friends, who felt that the term "empowering" is often overused and misused. However, she believed this anecdote was a perfect example of true empowerment. It was, without a doubt, the highlight of the week!