Reflecting on 2016

Mark Chubb

Last June (2016) I started writing this blog.  I’m not exactly sure what got me started to be honest, probably because I have been inspired by so many others’ blogs, possibly  thanks to @MaryBourassa’s encouragement!  Whatever helped me get started, I am still not sure WHY I am blogging.

Some things I DO know:

  • I started writing last June
  • I wrote 32 blog posts last year
  • People from 123 countries have been reading
  • I try to include pedagogical decisions and mathematical content in every post
  • I tend to write more when I should be working on other things:)

2016-blog-map

My 10 most popular posts were:

  1. So you want your students to have a Growth Mindset?
  2. Concept vs Procedure: An anecdote about what it means to be good at math
  3. Questioning the pattern of our questions
  4. Focus on Relational Understanding
  5. Never Skip the Closing of the Lesson
  6. What Does Day 1 Look Like?
  7. Exit Cards – What do your’s look like?
  8. Is This “Real World”?
  9. How do you give feedback?
  10. How do we meet the needs of so many unique students in a mixed-ability classroom?

My least popular posts were:

  1. Purposeful Practice: Happy Numbers
  2. Aiming for Mastery?
  3. “I like math because it’s objective…”
  4. How to change everything and nothing at the same time!
  5. Is That Even A Problem???

So, I’m left wondering, why are some posts more popular and others less so?  Are my least popular posts less read because they are more confrontational?  Do they offer less for others to relate to?

And why do some posts get retweeted or commented on more?  Is it because they offer more chance for reflection, or is it the topic…?

And more importantly, is this what I’m aiming for?  Is the purpose of this blog to share with others and hope it will be read, or is it for me to continue to write so I can reflect on my own thinking/decisions???

Is it about making connections with others?  Or about my own learning?  Or about helping others reflect???

I am left wondering what about blogging is different than reading others’ blogs?  How is this helpful and to whom?

While I don’t think I have the answers to my questions, I do know that I am continuing to learn and that my thoughts are getting others to consider their own teaching.  Hopefully as I continue writing, I will start to find the answers to WHY I do what I do.

Hopefully this blog will continue to be an important aspect to my work in 2017 as well!  Thanks for reading.

I’d love to know why you read math blogs.  Or what it would take to get you started writing your own!

Leave a comment here, or on Twitter (@MarkChubb3)

7 thoughts on “Reflecting on 2016”

  1. Mark, as always, all very good questions, ones I wrestle with as well (but for different reasons). If your goal is to inspire others to self-reflect, then rest assured that goal is met. If your goal is to share your thoughts and ideas with clarity and insight, done. Knowing that what you write is important to others, is well-received and respected may or may not motivate you to keep going, but they are worthwhile secondary outcomes. In the end, I think it is completely acceptable to blog simply because it helps YOU.

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  3. I’ve been reflecting on the same question as to why some posts do better than others on my blog. My latest thinking is that my top posts are top because they come up as results in search engines when teachers search those topics (such as teacher interview questions and number talks).

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    1. Hmmm. Good point. For me, only a small percentage comes from search engines. To be honest, I’m more curious about if the post is useful/helpful/thought-provoking… than just numbers.
      I’m trying to find the balance between specific topics and what we can think about in general. Some of my least popular ones have been too specific or too general. Maybe that’s just me reading into things?

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      1. I have found that my lesson reflections are some of the least popular posts on my blog. By numbers at least. But then I hear from teachers when I meet them face-to-face that they do find them useful so that gives me hope. But I mainly do those reflection blog posts for myself anyways and I’m just happy if it also help someone else in the process.

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