Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
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Problem Solving: What a concept
By Scott Elliott
Dayton Daily News
So you’ve got a beautiful new school in New Madison, set off from a smooth, black-topped parking lot by a perfectly manicured lawn. In spring or fall, a teacher’s trek to the side door is a smooth glide over grass.
But then winter snow and rain turn the scene to a sloppy tundra that necessitates a cold, roundabout walk to the door.
What’s needed is a brick or stone path that could be plowed, Tri-Village teacher Kimberly Puckett thought. It’s a problem that has a solution. It’s a MATH problem! Her math class could do it!
What would that take? Measurements for a scale drawing. Algebra to predict the number of bricks. And a volume calculation for the gravel base.
It worked. The path was laid and a new class was born, known simply as “problem solving.” And Puckett is up for another major teaching award.
The Path
Math can be a swirling wet saw and a face full of soft white mud.
So Puckett found while cutting bricks in 90 degree heat, turning her black hair and safety glasses grey with speckles of muck, to give a gritty problem-solving lesson to a huddle of teenagers.
Convincing high school kids that math can be motivating instead of monotony is a sometimes dirty job.
But Puckett’s interactive approach has earned her another of the teaching profession’s gold stars — she is a national finalist for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching.
In a way, the latest accolade is the legacy of that steamy day with the wet saw in 2004.
Out of it came “The Path� — a simple brick walkway across 50 feet of grass to keep teachers’ shoes dry on snowy days. And for Puckett’s neophyte crew, the straight and steady bricks were a mathematical badge of honor.
“Ten years down the road, they might be still using it and remember the people who did this,� said junior Travis Richardson, who laid brick for two days even though he wasn’t in the class that designed the walk. “Maybe our names will live on for a while.�
From that fingernail-caked experience also grew a popular new high school “problem solving� class. Now Puckett and an everchanging troop take their whacks at solving important problems in the school. This year, they are updating the tornado safety plan.
“Its amazing what kids can do, and will do, when you give them the power,� Puckett said.
Creativity noticed
As her kids chase down the janitor’s keys in search of undiscovered tornado-safe spaces, Puckett has become the school’s lead problem solver and fun maker.
And her creative teaching continues to get noticed.
Puckett is one of two Ohioans among 253 Presidential Award finalists. About 100 winners will get $10,000 and meet President Bush in March. In 2001, she won the $25,000 National Educator Award from the Milken Family Foundation.
Ryan Burkhardt learned calculus from Puckett as a Tri-Village senior and now team teaches with her.
“Some teachers say they have high expectations but when the kids come up short, they say, ‘good enough,’ � he said. “Whether it’s with precalculus or lower level students, she sets a high bar and keeps pushing until you get over it.�
Handshake connection
In the problem solving class, Puckett seldom lectures. Instead, kids hunched over school designs or huddled around the board as she hovered at the edges with encouraging whispers and warm smiles. Or she’ll square her shoulders, stare a student in the eye and offer a gentle challenge — “show me.�
A personal connection, she said, is key. Early in her career, with a particularly uninspired class, Puckett began a daily tradition of standing at the door to offer a handshake as the kids leave. Everybody laughed, but she noticed a spike in attendance.
“I didn’t see it coming the first time,� said junior Lewis Laux, whom Puckett this year tutored at home for six weeks after leg surgery. “She just hopped out of nowhere, patted me on the back and said, ‘Good to have you in class, Lewis! Bye!’ �
Doing projects such as the tornado plan gives the kids purpose, Puckett said.
“It’s a real transformation,� she said. “They go from looking like ‘I’m just here’ to ‘I make a difference.’ �
And they find lots of ways to overcome obstacles.
Harder is better
Junior Ben Newbauer, for instance, didn’t really want his rear end measured. But to save lives during a storm he agreed to squat on the auditorium’s wooden parquet floor and submit to the yellow tape.
“I think we’re going to need 2 feet by 2 feet for each kid,� Travis guessed.
Ben pulled up his knees and measured a little larger than Travis guessed — 22 inches wide and 32 inches long — numbers that were key to the overall space calculation.
Ben, who hopes to be a marine biologist, said he’d rather spend a week tackling the tornado task than do pages of problems each night.
“It’s harder for me to get the solution, but that actually makes it better,� he said. “This is actually fun.�
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