As I was reading through this chapter, I kind of had a "well, duh" attitude. Those are things I MUST do in my classroom. We CONSTANTLY check for understanding and we do not move on if the student hasn't mastered the concept.
I had a very candid discussion with my principal about this yesterday. In my classroom we have the incredible opportunity to work one on one with students for their academics. This allows us to work at 8 different levels in reading, writing, and math for 8 different students. In our curriculum, we DO NOT move on unless a student has shown that they can perform a task 3/3 times for two consecutive days. We also have the flexibility to go back if a student regresses. In the last year and a half, we have seen SO much growth in our students because they must master a concept before moving on.
We do have one full group session per day where we are working on basic classroom skills, like raising your hand and waiting your turn. When my students raise their hand quietly, they DO get called on to take a turn every time. They may have to wait for one person to go before them, but they do get their turn.
I do see where it would be beneficial in a gen ed classroom to do frequent checks for understanding. I also like the idea of not having kids always raise their hand. It would be a lot more difficult to know if ALL the students have mastered a concept and would take way too much time to get to every student individually.
On a side note, I did laugh at the football player comment. :) Before I read that he was kidding, I was impressed. I shared with my staff. :)
I am struggling with setting up an individualized proficiency based math class that follows this kind of model. My class has 20 students that have struggled with traditional math classes. I too ask that they show me they understand a certain concept three times before we move on to something new.
ReplyDeleteI just don't know how to keep them all moving forward. They all have work to do, but it is often different from their neighbor. They don’t have the daily deadlines that motivate in a typical class because they work until they have shown mastery. Some seem to really need me next to them to make progress. At my first school (alt ed proficiency based) I heard it called spinning plates – sprinting from student to student to keep them moving. I get exhausted and students are always waiting for me - far from ideal. I would really appreciate advice!
I reward my students, some may call it bribing. :) They are all working for something. Usually it's a favorite book or toy. They have to earn 5 pennies to get their reward. Some kids earn their reward within 5 times of responding correctly, some get a penny for every set of responses. It depends on the kid. You could draw it out to them earning five check marks within the class period or for every assignment they complete. They may work for candy bars or chat time, or something else they may enjoy. It's getting them motivated!
ReplyDeleteKari,I always try to picture the relationship between "regular ed" and your world to help draw correlations for you in class. I love it when the work we are doing is a good fit for what you do.
ReplyDeleteRachael, I was reviewing one of the work samples from last year for my portfolio. That teacher had a lot of good ideas about students setting their own goals and working towards them. Remind me to share them with you.