INBs were sort of the theme of my day. This is my fourth year of using them, and I've always used composition notebooks. One of the new teachers in our department also uses them (in Geometry - which is an awesome follow up to my using them in Algebra). So today, while we had a thousand other things to be doing, we launched into a discussion about the pros and cons of each style.
Composition Notebooks:
PROS
-everything is contained
-copying everything two per page ensures a decent fit (and half the copies!)
-cheap
CONS
-page size is awkward
-all the cutting/gluing
-running out of pages
-must decide order ahead of time/pre-plan
Binders:
PROS
-add as many pages as you want
-can re-order as desired
-less cutting/glue
CONS
-hard (but not impossible) to include foldables
-papers might not get put in
-holes rip through
-binders can be destroyed
In the end, I think we both decided to use composition notebooks. However, in an effort to save class time, we're going to pass out the papers for the next section at the end of class on test day for the unit before and create a video showing students how to insert them into their notebooks. Then they'll be good to go on test day. With our population, this is a viable option, but it might not be in other environments.
I'm kind of excited to see how she likes it - and maybe next year I'll consider using a binder if she can convince me that it's a better system.
So, what do you think? Which is better? What factors affect your decision?
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