Category Archives: Classroom Happenings

Make the Course Yours – A Response to AI in the Classroom

Posted on December 1, 2023 by jrh794

Response to the ubiquity of generative AI on college campuses must include rearticulation of both institutional and personal purpose.  Justin Wolpers’ excellent webinar laid out the problem in stark terms.  Nearly all college students use GPT for some of their … Continue reading →

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Retirement – Why and What I Am Losing

Posted on June 22, 2020 by jrh794

I ran across the notes for these two short posts: Muscles Ache for the Feel of a Stylus and I Wish I Could Tell You … I think they describe well the reasons I dislike teaching online and why I … Continue reading →

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Lecturing at x1.5

Posted on April 28, 2020 by jrh794

My wife, when I first met her, had 20-5 vision.  She lived in a different visual world than me – reading road signs, spotting singing birds in trees, noticing lint on my shirts well before me.  In fact, I never … Continue reading →

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A Year of Nights of Wondering VIII: Stuck Edition

Posted on October 29, 2019 by jrh794

My students have taken their seats and are beginning their daily quiz.  One says, “I’m stuck, Mr. Hatton.”  I murmur something about doing the best she can.  She repeats, “No, I’m stuck.”  I remind her  about the online quiz makeup … Continue reading →

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Teaching Choices

Posted on January 22, 2019 by jrh794

Last week we had a few sixth graders visit our elementary algebra classroom.  While my students were taking their daily quiz, I put this on the board for the youngsters.  I went to the back of the room and explained … Continue reading →

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Smart People, All of Them

Posted on July 6, 2018 by jrh794

People, need I say students, are smart in different ways.  They might be smart (expert at) playing a particular video game or shopping online or dog training or horse riding or the internal affairs of Poland or basketball or short … Continue reading →

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My Worries

Posted on June 7, 2018 by jrh794

I worry that I sometimes waste my students’ time.  I know the standard lower levels of our math curriculum have antiquated parts. I need to  devise ways of delivering this required material in a modern context. I worry that my … Continue reading →

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They Do What I Say

Posted on May 2, 2017 by jrh794

I am grading written out  “word” problems this morning.  Many of my students are using the steps I gave in class and explaining them well.  They are doing what I said.  For a moment I felt overwhelmed by the responsibility. … Continue reading →

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FOIL is Verboten

Posted on March 14, 2017 by jrh794

My students and I have a habit of referring to the act of multiplying two binomial forms as FOILing, recalling the acronym FOIL (First, Outer, Inner, Last) for remembering the process.  My excuse for using the term  is that they use … Continue reading →

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Here’s What You Don’t Get to Do

Posted on March 13, 2017 by jrh794

I started last Monday’s Precalculus II class with this little speech(edited). “Here’s what you don’t get to do.  When you have children, you don’t get to say, “I was bad at math.”  Because you are good at math.  You could … Continue reading →

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