Kate Butler

The Principle of Expected Value

by Lucie Knight-Santos

Earlier this year, when the Blue Sky Project first began, we took the opportunity in our cohort meetings to ask about the innovative methods our fellow “cohorters” were using in their classes. Ms. Kate Butler told me about the work she was doing with her Probability and Statistics class involving the game of Roulette and the Principle of Expected Value. As someone who is the farthest possible from being a math genius, I was fascinated and decided to take this opportunity to find out more about the unique methods that she uses to teach this class.

The Principle of Expected Value predicts what return a player can expect if they bet one dollar. For example, in the game of Roulette, you can expect to lose 5.3 cents on every dollar bet. Knowing this, students can then calculate what each bet is worth if the player wins. Since Roulette involves different kinds of bets, such as placing a bet on a single value or only even numbers, students have their work cut out for them calculating the expected return on dozens of different bets that a player can make in this particular game. In Ms. Butler’s class, the students first play an electronic version of the game on an app and then discuss the different types of bets possible, especially the riskier kinds of bets such as a bet placed on one number. They then go through the bets and calculate the probability of winning and the expected pay out. They receive one chip, place bets and keep a running tally of their winnings and losses to check the validity of their own calculations.

Ms. Butler has designed this Probability and Statistics class keeping the students, who tend to find math challenging, very much in mind. The classes focusing on the Principle of Expected Value and Roulette form part of a larger theme that has students learning how to calculate the expected value of games, varying from Blackjack to the Lottery and The Price is Right. The latter game forms an entire unit towards the end of the year that involves students creating simulations of their own games, that they then play and track the results to see if their data matches up with their own calculations. Last year, students created their own Plinko games that they took around campus and asked other students to play, betting - for example - hugs or high fives.

In creating these classes, Ms. Butler has successfully turned these games into an effective and fun teaching tool that engages even the most challenged and skeptical math learners (myself included)!

Alex Lipoff

Shark Tanks & Fantasy Football

by Ted Shaffner

We talk a lot about student-centered learning these days, and at times, it's hard to get a handle on precisely what that means. Alex Lipoff spends a great deal of his time working this out and performing a wide variety of experiments to test the concept fully. In his seminar class, he allows students to determine a large portion of the actual curriculum, and finds in the process that he is still able to teach the essential skills for higher order thinking and communicating. In the video below, you can see him talk about three of his experiments, including the Seminar Passion Project, a student feedback exercise based on the television show, Shark Tank, and a Harkness reflection exercise based on Fantasy Football. You will also hear him talk about modeling risk taking, focusing on skills-based learning, and the difficulties and potential messiness of innovation in the classroom.

The creative mind at work is impressive here, but even more important is how thoughtful Mr. Lipoff is about balancing content and skills, and how willing he is to inspire and follow the trail his students want to forge with him. I have been lucky enough to observe his classes and discuss his ideas at length, and I felt others should be able to share in this opportunity. I have learned a great deal from him, and plan to adapt some of these projects into my own lesson plans.

Laura Bishop

Creating a Library and Media Center For the 21st Century

by Melissa Dorfman

Laura Bishop has dived right in to her new position as Director of the Library and Media Center at Hun. She started her first year by introducing students and teachers to new and creative ways to approach their projects and research assignments.

Ms. Bishop credits attending inspiring conferences such as the Education Information Technology Conference earlier in her career, and the innovative people she met there, for introducing her to some of the “must haves” for a 21st Century Library and Media Center.

Lib Guides is one of the most important tools our Media Center Director feels she has implemented so far at Hun. This organizational tool for digital data keeps information for projects, learning about a particular theme or topic, and guides to research in one place. Ms. Bishop introduced my students to Lib guides as what she calls a “one stop shop” to find all instructions, printed materials, and data bases that our library has to offer, relating to our topic of an imaginary trip through Central America. After research is completed using the help of the individualized guide for the project, students can post their project right on the guide itself. From start to finish, Lib Guide allows students to create their projects with ease. 

Thanks to Ms. Bishop, some Hun students have also already been using the “Questia” app for advanced work and research. It contains thousands of ebooks that unlimited users around the country and the world can use at the same time. Students have their own folders and can highlight and take notes while they are reading. Here is a Youtube video Ms. Bishop created to make using Questia as user friendly as possible for our students and faculty.

Finally, our art courses have been enhanced with the the Artstor app. It is a repository of images and works from around the world. Ms. Bishop says excitedly, “You can see the brushstrokes in the pieces.” This allows students to easily compare and contrast some of the world’s greatest artists. Check out Mona Lisa from Artstor!

From my perspective as a very grateful teacher whose students have benefited from the new resources Laura Bishop has brought to our Library, I am very excited about the new opportunities for learning she has brought to Hun. I know we all look forward to continued collaboration with her to help enhance our students’ learning experience at our School. She is excited about what students can do in her library, and the enthusiasm is contagious for all who work with her.