A friend, knowing how strongly I feel about the power of engaging students in a classroom, sent me a link to a news article. After reading the article, she said it sounded like my kind of classroom. The study, conducted with Canadian college students, compared a lecture format with an interactive format. The interactive format included short, small-group discussions, in class “clicker” quizzes for monitoring of conceptual understanding, demonstrations, and question-answer sessions. The students who weren’t “just sitting and absorbing” information scored twice as high on tests. They were being respectfully, meaningfully, and qualitatively challenged–yes, that is my kind of classroom!

Last week, I presented on Tabor Rotation: The Perfect Framework for Simplifying Small-Group, Differentiated Instruction in Mathematics at the RtI (Response to Intervention) Symposium in Corpus Christi, Texas. I met a large number of secondary educators who were interested in “shaking up” what was going on in their classrooms. I hope that the findings of this article will support them on their journey of doing what is best for all students…

[It’s Not the Teacher, but Method that Matters]