Kelly Pendleton has taught AP Statistics for over 10 years in Charlotte, NC. She has been an AP Reader since 2017 and loves using the Experience First, Formalize Later model to teach statistics. She develops curriculum and assessments for Math Medic and provides workshops for teachers across the country.
I first read about the Math Medics and Experience First, Formalize Later (EFFL) at the beginning of the 2018 school year. My teammate and I would download the lessons without reading the blog posts (sorry, Luke and Lindsey!), format them to fit our plan, and then stand at the front of the room and work through the activities with the students. After using a few of their lessons, we signed up for Math Medic Summer Camp. We wanted to meet the creators of the “fun hooks” and learn how they did it all without traditional notes. On the first day of camp, Lindsey got out her red pen and went through the debrief process. We were in awe.
My teammate and I looked at each other and agreed: “This is so cool now that we actually know how it works, but it will be impossible to do every lesson like this while on block schedule.” After taking out midterms and final exams, holidays, and special occasions, we have about 70 days to work with overall. How could we possibly turn 150 days of EFFL lessons into 70?!
The morning after Summer Camp ended, we sat in a coffee shop and modified the calendar we had created just 2 weeks before. We went through the 150 days on the Math Medic website and grouped them next to our current schedule. There would be days we would have to fit 3 Math Medic lessons into one, but we knew we had to make it work. Our students deserve this.
Since attending Summer Camp five years ago, we have stuck with EFFL all the way. Teaching the Math Medic lessons on a block schedule has been challenging, but so worth it! The students’ communication skills have greatly improved on FRQs, they are able to refer back to experiences while studying for tests, and they’re awake and engaged throughout each lesson. And although our students are not a random sample of all AP Statistics students and we did not randomly assign them to treatment groups, we are convinced that EFFL is the most effective way to teach AP Statistics, even for a block schedule with half the amount of class periods!
I first shared this block schedule four years ago, and know many teachers have used some version of it in their classroom. Since then, I have modified it, tested it, and then modified it again. Here are some important tips I have learned.
Tips for Teaching Math Medic Lessons on a Block Schedule
Read the blog posts!
If modifying lessons to fit on a different schedule, the experience and debrief must be done on the same day! You can save QuickNotes and Check Your Understandings for the next day or asynchronous homework, if needed.
Combine lessons when possible by making them one fluid experience. Put two experiences together, make one large box for the QuickNotes, and put the Check Your Understandings together.
Print packets for the students with some pre-filled QuickNotes to save time.
Watch Luke’s Lesson Notes!
When Lindsey and Luke announced the new Refreshed Lessons for AP Stats would be coming soon, I immediately reached out to them for early access. I wanted to build a new and improved block schedule to share with the community. Now, after working on this all summer, it is ready to share!
Notes about this new block schedule:
The block schedule is for 65 days. It uses every one of the Refreshed Lessons for AP Stats and still gives time for AP Exam Review.
This new and improved schedule includes suggested homework assignments from Math Medic Assessment Platform as well as ways to modify quizzes and tests to fit the pacing guide.
There are days that will feel rushed, but that may be necessary so there’s time for review before the AP Exam.
You have full autonomy over the schedule you use in your classroom, so feel free to adjust as needed.
Email kelly@mathmedic.com if you have any questions about the schedule, combining lessons, or using the Math Medic Assessment Platform.