Harp Auditions and Evaluation Phases I and II [Master Class]

Glissando Waltz
Moonlight

Math Olympiad for Elementary and Middle School.

Our homeschool is a registered administrator of the MOEM.  This allows the kids to participate in this international math competition, earn credit, and practice problem solving.  Good luck Haley and Ian!!  

AMC 8

Sitting for the AMC 8.

Junior Breakthrough Challenge feedback

Applicant: Haley Taylor Schlitz

Total Score: 55.4241

Trait Score Sum: 55.4

JUDGING CRITERION # 1: ENGAGEMENT (0-5)

Comment:

1.8

Your explanation captured my attention and made me want to keep watching because you were passionate about what you were explaining, and I think this is the key to teaching pretty much anything. Your example was perfect, and because of the simplicity of it and how it applies to everyday life (something we all can relate to), your video made me think more about the concept. I felt engaged and interested throughout, but the reason this criterion isn't full marks is because often you were in front of your whiteboard, which made it a bit harder to be focused and engaged, but because of what you said and how you explained negative steps, it wasn't too big of a deal.

2.4

First off, nice topic and demonstration of how to take a negative step! I liked your idea of using a visual to demonstrate your point, and the last image was especially unique. However, I didn't find this topic too interesting, and I thought you could've provided a more convincing case as to what a negative step particularly is. I know you probably won't learn about this yet, but what you're saying is kind of like vectors, which you can think of as arrows with a direction and angle. Vectors can be angle, and is very similar to your topic if you want to search it up. Anyways, if I understand what you were hoping to get across, but your case wasn't particularly convincing. In your example, taking a negative step is the same as taking a positive step in the opposite direction, is it not? But I liked your presentation style and how you took the time to explain things, so good job!

3.4

I was able to focus throughout the video, but it was not particularly interesting or captivating. I could have dazed off if not trying to focus

2.7

I liked the fact that the person used drawings to enhance her explanation; however, I felt disengaged after only a couple of minutes because of the repetition of the same idea.

4.8

Your explanation was definitely rigorous, as you could graph it as well as explained it visually and verbally. After watching your video, the idea of negative steps definitely makes a lot of sense. I don't feel that you glossed over important points, and I think you were able to establish real intuition and understanding of the concept for any viewer at any age. Your example of the house and walking to the supermarket was perfect, in my opinion, and what made it better was when you changed the perspective. I think this was really good as it made the explanation much more useful as it makes applying the knowledge you portrayed in your video to other, unfamiliar situations much easier and makes the step to developing a thorough and intuitive understanding much easier. I don't know if you have learned about vectors yet, it looked like you might have touched on it briefly, and if you added/mentioned something about this, you definitely would have gotten full marks on this criterion. It is something that would have made the understanding of your concept even clearer and deeper.

2.6

You explained it decently well, but it was fundamentally all about subtraction. This is more of a common sense kind of thing, such that if you go 20 steps right and 5 steps back, then you've ultimately went 15 steps right. I wouldn't say it's particularly relevant and important, I think you just provided an easy and understandable way to demonstrate subtraction using a number line type of situation.

3.1

I liked how you used the whiteboard, but as I said previously, it would have been better if you weren't in front of it as much as it impaired your ambiance a bit. The way I was taught about the concept of negative steps didn't give as an intuitive explanation, and the way it was taught didn't suit my learning styles, whilst this did much better. One thing that would have been a minor change would be if you drew the blue line for the negative steps a bit higher than the 20step line just so that there was a gap to see it a bit more clearly, but this didn't hinder your grade. Also, the slides you made at the end passed too fast to read properly, and it looks like you put a lot of effort into this, so it would have been nice for you to explain them briefly, maybe with a voice-over. This has absolutely nothing to do with your grade, but I think it's AWESOME that you play harp and are semi-homeschooled!! I play the harp too, and I've been playing for around 9.5 years now, and I hope you keep it up. Was a wonderful coincidence. :)

1.9

As I said before, I liked your thinking of taking "negative steps" as an analogy, but ultimately it was about subtraction. You provided a few good examples, but I believe they weren't too strong to stand on their own. They can be easily refuted by your friends' perspectives of taking positive steps in the negative direction, so I would suggest a more solid way of backing up your claim that people can take "negative steps".

The Khan Academy Junior Breakthrough Challenge

Haley participated in the Junior Breakthrough Challenge last week.  She proposed a "new math idea" whereby one *could* take a negative step.  She drew a couple of diagrams, and recorded her explanation on video.  Then used 'movie maker' to edit it a tiny bit.  Every step of the process was taken with care - and a very first effort of this kind.  While we don't expect her to win, it was great to see her engaged, and motivated.  Also, watching/evaluating other peer videos and ideas was a very beneficial exercise for her.  One of her evaluations was this one - and she thought this guy was *awesome.*

The Video is here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIORtKHiG3E