I was very surprised to hear that this actually happens in some places. In our area, we use to collaborate between the elementary, Junior high and high school math departments. Now, that rarely happens, which is a shame. It was truly beneficial when we did it.

@Kevin Berkopes I think between staff and administration changes, priorities have shifted a lot. We seem to be focused on testing and the results of that as well as the upcoming letter grades that schools we be getting.

It would definitely be different. Different schools have different resources and different expectations. One school might be focused on integrating technology more, where another might be working on decreasing the dependency of technology. Our school is currently changing its focus to, not just being able to solve mathematical problems, but increasing problem solving skills. So outcomes are going to look different as compared to a school that is only basing it on the ability to solve math problems.

I, for one, am totally in favor of doing away with laptops as much as possible. In my class, I may use them for the bellringers or "do it nows" at the very beginning of class, which is mainly due to finding a few cool resources to practice integer operations and other basic math skills. However, most, if not all of our assignments are paper and pencil. Unfortunately, I am one of the only teachers opting to do so. I have been told this is mainly due to not wanting to grade things by hand. However, if it helps the students grasp the skills and concepts they need, it is worth it to me.

I started revisiting our scatter plot chapter and requiring the students to, not only create scatter plots but to survey staff and students and interpret the data that they found. It was interesting to see that when they were required to apply what they learned, it created a deeper understanding of, not just the general process that is taught, but why and how scatter plots can be useful. It was no longer about learning how to "follow the steps," but more about why we do these steps and coming up with creative, yet accurate interpretations. This project began as a way to fill in time between completing standardized testing and the end of the school year, because none of us knew "What do we do now?" It quickly became a way of revisiting a subject and allowing the students to apply what they learned and to demonstrate a deeper understanding of it.

We just discussed this in our department meeting this morning. I asked for everyone to go around and discuss where they were currently. It was interesting that the majority of us were around the same area, not where the curriculum says we should be currently. However, two teachers it replied, "I'm where the curriculum states." I asked, how is it possible that you are there, when we have been working on this same standard for a couple of days and the kids are still struggling. One said, "we worked on it for two days and either they get it or they don't. I have to move on so that we can be ready for the standardized test." This leads me to believe that test pressure plays a huge role in the pacing and guidelines that we follow. However, we should also note that our test scores continue to get worse and worse each year.