Chapter 6: What's Normal? (Days 38-39)

Today in Stats, I begin Chapter 6 of the text, called "What's Normal?" The word "Normal" in the title refers to the Normal distribution (always capitalized in our text). Commonly known as the "bell curve," the Normal distribution is one of the best-known models in Statistics.

I cover the first six pages of this chapter today. Most of the chapter is about calculating z-scores -- the idea of standard deviation as a ruler. More than any other chapter in the text thus far, Chapter 6 is fairly heavy on calculations. We spend lots of time on notes and vocabulary, but we must also spend time with markers and whiteboards in order to practice finding z-scores. Upcoming pages in this chapter will also have the students learning how to work with Normal distributions on their calculators.

I'm definitely worried about how well my special ed student will do in this chapter. On the Chapter 5 Test that I graded over the weekend, his score is only 44 out of 100. He managed to get one multiple-choice question as well as one of the constructed-response questions correct. But then he earns only minimal credit over the remaining four free response questions. His one-on-one aide is still there to assist him, but once again, I wonder how much she can truly help.

Of the other three students, the two guys are doing fairly well, but the lone girl in the class didn't earn a good score on the test. It didn't help that she missed both multiple-choice questions. I'm not sure what to do about her yet -- often during the lessons she appears to demonstrate understanding, but this doesn't always translate to success on the tests. I'll continue to watch for ways I can help her do a better job on these assessments.

Once again, I leave extra time for the students to start on the homework assignment -- it's a bit longer than most others that aren't chapter review. This is because today is the second day of the online Calculus workshop that I started last Tuesday.

Oh, and speaking of Calculus, the one girl who did homework on DeltaMath last Thursday instead of taking the test is -- you guessed it! -- absent today. Chances are that she's sick, but still, the timings of her absences are suspicious. My partner teacher next door suggests making a parent phone call -- if I do so, it will be the first call home I'll have to make since starting at this new school.

As for the Calculus workshop, today's focus is on the various types of free response questions. Indeed, according to the workshop leader, there are only six types of such questions on the AP -- Data Table, Rate Function, Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, Area/Volume, Differential Equation, and Wild Card. In many years, the six FRQ's appearing on the test in a given year consist of exactly one of each type.

Tomorrow is Wednesday, and so it's Ethnostats. I'll likely give the same lesson on bell curves that I give to general Stats, with a few minutes at the end for finishing the Greta Thunberg speeches. On the original calendar, this week was to be Parent Conferences, with a minimum day on Friday (just like Back to School Night). Parent conferences have been cancelled, with more information "forthcoming."

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