How can you balance Marilyn Burns' caveat - p 59 - that the teacher should "stop, deal with the confusion and move on only when all students are ready" with the differentiated classroom? What do you do with the most capable students?
I agree with Burns' caveat and do think it's important to get as close to 100% mastery as possible. I'd balance this by having the capable students (or the ones who are ready to move on) pair up and "re-teach"/help those not ready to move on. We all know that we learn something even better once we teach it. Why not utilize this method to help those more capable to learn even better?
I had a hard time envisioning this working so I tried my own adaptation during math this past week. I created a slide which taught students to find equivalent fractions and we went over it together and at the bottom was a "Try Me" problem. I circulated while the students worked in groups to solve the problem. The next slide was a multiple choice "clicker" question which the students answered individually. I noted which student(s) missed the problem and went around to them while the other students did the "Try Me" problem for comparing fractions (the next slide). I did this for comparing fractions, converting fractions to decimals and converting decimals to percents. When we took our test today, the lowest score was 85% and that was only because the student forgot to check their calculations, not because they did not understand the process needed to solve the problem. When I finished this unit, I had the students make group plus/deltas and 100% of my class said they preferred to learn this way and one student said, "I learned more in these 3 days than I do when you teach something for a week. Can we do it this way from now on?" I think I will try this again, as the students felt more successful, they learned how to take notes and received immediate feedback.
Brittany, I have to agree with Anne's reaction that the capable kids shouldn't have to be peer tutors much --at least in a perfect setting. You need to know that this is often a sore spot for teachers of the gifted and talented. As teachers passionate for the needs of students on the high end, we know that regular-ed teachers (at least sometimes) ask kids to help the struggling students (or else they have to just "go and read" until the class catches up). While it sometimes can be a management challenge, the needs of all learners need to be met. Perhaps while the struggling students are having their confusion "dealt with," as Burns suggests, the math students who are okay with the concept should have a long-term math project handy that they can pull out and work on. Perhaps a Problem of the Day would do the trick?!
The differentiated classroom meets Marilyn Burns when we use a “gradual release to independent work” (59) not only from us, but also from each other. After an initial concept lesson, some students are immediately ready for successful independent problem solving. Other students will needed more cycles through the guided instruction and check for understanding model before they are prepared to move toward independent problem solving.
I agree with Burns' caveat and do think it's important to get as close to 100% mastery as possible. I'd balance this by having the capable students (or the ones who are ready to move on) pair up and "re-teach"/help those not ready to move on. We all know that we learn something even better once we teach it. Why not utilize this method to help those more capable to learn even better?
ReplyDeleteHelping out once in a while is fine, but kids who need to move on need to move on. Their job is not to teach others - that is our job.
ReplyDeleteI had a hard time envisioning this working so I tried my own adaptation during math this past week. I created a slide which taught students to find equivalent fractions and we went over it together and at the bottom was a "Try Me" problem. I circulated while the students worked in groups to solve the problem. The next slide was a multiple choice "clicker" question which the students answered individually. I noted which student(s) missed the problem and went around to them while the other students did the "Try Me" problem for comparing fractions (the next slide). I did this for comparing fractions, converting fractions to decimals and converting decimals to percents. When we took our test today, the lowest score was 85% and that was only because the student forgot to check their calculations, not because they did not understand the process needed to solve the problem.
ReplyDeleteWhen I finished this unit, I had the students make group plus/deltas and 100% of my class said they preferred to learn this way and one student said, "I learned more in these 3 days than I do when you teach something for a week. Can we do it this way from now on?" I think I will try this again, as the students felt more successful, they learned how to take notes and received immediate feedback.
That is great! Glad that is working so well for you - math is a tough subject for lots of kids, so having such success is marvelous.
ReplyDeleteBrittany, I have to agree with Anne's reaction that the capable kids shouldn't have to be peer tutors much --at least in a perfect setting. You need to know that this is often a sore spot for teachers of the gifted and talented. As teachers passionate for the needs of students on the high end, we know that regular-ed teachers (at least sometimes) ask kids to help the struggling students (or else they have to just "go and read" until the class catches up). While it sometimes can be a management challenge, the needs of all learners need to be met. Perhaps while the struggling students are having their confusion "dealt with," as Burns suggests, the math students who are okay with the concept should have a long-term math project handy that they can pull out and work on. Perhaps a Problem of the Day would do the trick?!
ReplyDeleteThe differentiated classroom meets Marilyn Burns when we use a “gradual release to independent work” (59) not only from us, but also from each other. After an initial concept lesson, some students are immediately ready for successful independent problem solving. Other students will needed more cycles through the guided instruction and check for understanding model before they are prepared to move toward independent problem solving.
ReplyDelete