“I want to begin using small groups in math and like the Tabor Rotation Framework. How do I “dip in my big toe?”
1. Divide your class into 4 heterogeneously mixed groups.
*The groups should not be the same as any other group which occurs in your room.
*Math groups.
*Have each team name themselves from a list of your subjectâs tested terms. If time allows, have each team create an icon for their team.
*Post this list, with roles noted, in your room.
2. Appoint leaders and co-leaders to assist with the 4 groups.
*The students who are leaders and co-leaders should be the students who are able to motivate others to remain on task, able to give directions, able to clarify procedures, and able to guide students with questions.
*The leaders and co-leaders should be trained before implementing the Tabor Rotation Framework in your classroom.
3. Meet with each team and give all team members a role. Give each member a responsibility sheet [Tabor Rotation Team Roles] and review it with them.
*Model and practice the behavior you would like to see in your leaders, co-leaders, and students.
*Determine the “currency” of your students which will provide initial extrinsic motivation. Use a point system to encourage positive peer pressure [Tabor Rotation Team Points 4. Locate where you would like each station to be located in your room and how you would like the desks organized during Rotation Days.
*The Teacher Time Station should be at a table or group of desks where students can use manipulatives easily and record information. Teacher Time should be located where the teacher can easily see the rest of the class working during rotations.
*The Games Station should be opposite Teacher Time but in an area where the noise level wonât disturb your small-group, guided math instruction at the Teacher Time Station.
*The Manipulatives Station may be at a table, group of desks. There must be enough room for the students to work in pairs with concrete objects and/or workmats.
*If the Technology/Application Station should be located near the technology hardware and software needed for the activity. If technology is not a part of the station activity, then the students need to have a hard surface available to them.
5. Ensure the smooth and timely movement of students/activities to and from each station. Teacher Time and Games will switch. Manipulatives and Application will switch so that each week goes from active to passive. Have a specific location labeled so the last class can replace the activities in their storage area.
6. Determine initial station concepts which are at mastery level for 85-90% of your students. This allows the students to practice the procedures of the rotation framework without having to struggle with lack of conceptual understanding.
7. Think about the readiness level of the students for the concepts initially placed in the stations. Try to give pre-assessments at least 3-4 weeks in advance.
8. Organize planning guides, clipboards/readiness charts, materials, activities, seating/group charts.
âThe secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.â -Mark Twain
Iâve posted several blogs on the topic of planning effectively. [Read https://glennatabor.com/2010/09/how-to-plan-for-small-groups-in-math/] Part of my on-going support of schools with whom I have worked is assisting them in the planning process. These graphic organizers were blown up into poster size and became invaluable to each team as we planned together. Teachers who used these guides asked if they could be posted on the site. As teachers, grade levels, and departments plan for the 2nd semester, these Long-Term Planning for Differentiated Instruction templates may be helpful to you, too.Â
âDreams are today’s answers to tomorrow’s questions. ” Edgar Cayce
Many educators, who have attended my workshops concerned with simplifying small-group, differentiated instruction in mathematics using the Tabor Rotation Framework, have submitted questions. Before the year is over, my goal is to respond to as many of these questions as possible. These teachers came to me with measuring cups waiting for answers…here come some possible solutions.
One middle school teacher asked, âHow do you offer remediation or additional help for students during a week of instruction?â
Great question! This question reveals the teacherâs desire to stop reteaching to the entire class just because a few students are struggling with the concept or ask a question during the whole-group portion of the class. When schools are looking for answers of how to best meet the needs of all of their students, this question is always asked. During a recent Tabor Rotation training, one high school teacher made an interesting observation. He said, âIâm spending too long in my whole-group lesson because I feel guilty if I donât stop and explain everything to every student who has a question. I should have felt guilty boring the majority of students who did understand and were just sitting there. I need a timer!â
If you plan for student diversity, then you donât need to feel guilty at all! A simple response to this question is to use readiness groups. During independent practice time, a teacher may pull a guided readiness group to teach skills or concepts which were not understood by some of the students. Teachers should think of a different way to explore the concepts than the ones previously used with those students. If more time would benefit the approaching level students, then the teacher could pull an additional readiness group for ten minutes during another independent practice time.
If you use the Tabor Rotation Framework, every week includes readiness grouping for all students on Days 4 & 5. If more assistance is needed, a readiness group could occur on Monday when the leaders and co-leaders are in the Leadership Academy and the rest of the class is involved in independent practice. If still more time is needed, then the components of Rotation Days 2 & 3 can be abbreviated slightly to give an extra ten minutes on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Want a more sophisticated explanation of how to plan for assisting the learners who need it? First, if a teacher believes that differentiated instruction is a studentâs bill of rights, then all students will receive additional assistance. The Tabor Rotation Planning Framework plans for EVERY student in a room to have small-group guided instruction at least twice a week.
Letâs review how a teacher may offer additional help for all students. [See the Basic Tabor Rotation Planning Guide] Days 4 & 5 of the Tabor Rotation Framework for simplifying small-group, differentiated instruction in math are devoted to Readiness Grouping. After pre-assessment and Clipboard Cruising, the teacher determines who is above level in their understanding of the weekâs skills and concepts, who is on level, and who is approaching level for the weekâs skills and concepts.
Example of Above-Level, Master Assistance: An Algebra class is studying how to graph a linear equation. Their teacher gave a pre-assessment four weeks before and determined that 2 of his students understood the concept completely. He followed this pre-assessment by giving them the 10 hardest problems from the unit and asking them to explain their thinking. They showed understanding at the concrete, the representational, and the abstract level. These two students met with the teacher first on Day 4 to explore how to graph an inequality. The students were asked to share the âconnectionsâ they made between the two types of graphing in the Mathematicianâs Circle that week.
Example of On-Level, Expert Assistance: The second group of students was given the same pre-assessment as the rest of the class. The teacher noted that these students were familiar with the vocabulary needed to graph linear equations and knew how to use a coordinate graph, but were unfamiliar with the procedures for creating a graph of a linear equation. These students explored the weekly concepts through varied modalities. They made more meaningful, real-world connections during the Whole-Group Mini-Lessons devoted to the regression models for the amount of cereal they ate per day and the amount of pen ink two classes in the school used.
The activities at the Tabor Rotation Stations provided hands-on experiences in understanding linear equations. In the Manipulative Station the students worked in pairs to graph the points of a floor-sized linear equation. In the Games Station they competed to see which set of partners was first to find the points on the graph. In Teacher Time, the teacher began the exploration of slope of a line. In the Application Station, students reviewed how to change Plain English into Math Talk and use the Math Talk to write equations and inequality statements.
The teacher used all the information obtained via Clipboard Cruising, a type of formative assessment, to determine who had understood the concepts at an expert level but could use more experience in a guided math group based on their interest and learning style. The teacher uses the weekâs activities from the Games and the Manipulative Station to review the concepts and ask higher-order questions while playing.
Example of Approaching-Level, Novice Assistance: The third group of students showed some prerequisite skill gaps after taking the pre-assessment. The teacher met with the students on Day 1 to “front load” some of the needed information for the week. However, some of that group have struggled with mastery of the weekâs skills and concepts. After being exposed to the concepts in at least 3 different ways, they are still unable to answer some of the on-level questions.
The teacher thinks about the interests, learning styles, and achievements of this group before beginning the guided, small-group instruction. The teacher begins the at-promise or novice group instruction (often called intervention or remediation) by playing a part of a game from three weeks before. They do this for about 2-3 minutes. The teacher does this because he understands how the brain learns best. His students will learn more about the concepts which challenge them if they begin with something which makes them feel successfulâsee a Student Snowball of Success blog post [https://glennatabor.com/2010/09/a-snowball-of-success/].
The small-group, guided math instruction for the Novice group continues with the teacher using a computer program to show the steps for graphing a linear equation. As they observe each step, the teacher stops for discussion. The teacher realizes that more time is needed, so will call this group for a second time the next day, Day 5.
âHow do you offer remediation or additional help for students during a week of mathematics instruction?â
This post suggested many ways to help students–ways which are easy and have proven to be highly successful. Every student has the right to meet and exceed their potential. When a teacher believes this and follows a plan of action to realize this belief, his students can quote Buzz Lightyear,
âTo Infinity and Beyond!â
âAsking is the beginning of receiving. Make sure you don’t go to the ocean with a teaspoon. At least take a bucket so the kids won’t laugh at you.â    -Jim Rohn
Many educators, who have attended workshops concerned with simplifying small-group, differentiated instruction in mathematics using the Tabor Rotation Framework, have submitted questions. Before the year is over, my goal is to respond to as many of these questions as possible. These teachers came to me with measuring cups waiting for answers…here come some possible solutions.
One middle school teacher asked, âHow do you offer remediation or additional help for students during a week of Tabor Rotation?â
Great question! This question reveals the teacherâs desire to stop reteaching to the entire class just because a few students are struggling with the concept or ask a question during the whole-group portion of the class. When schools are looking for answers of how to best meet the needs of all of their students, this question is always asked. During a recent Tabor Rotation training, one high school teacher made an interesting observation. He said, âIâm spending too long in my whole-group lesson because I feel guilty if I donât stop and explain everything to every student who has a question. I should have felt guilty boring the majority of students who did understand and were just sitting there. I need a timer!â
If you plan for student diversity, then you donât need to feel guilty at all! A simple response to this question is to use readiness groups. During independent practice time, a teacher may pull a guided readiness group to teach skills or concepts which were not understood by some of the students. Teachers should think of a different way to explore the concepts than the ones previously used with those students. If more time would benefit the approaching level students, then the teacher could pull an additional readiness group for ten minutes during another independent practice time.
If you use the Tabor Rotation Framework, this readiness group could occur on Monday when the leaders and co-leaders are in the Leadership Academy and the rest of the class is involved in independent practice. If still more time is needed, then the components of Rotation Days 2 & 3 can be abbreviated slightly to give an extra ten minutes on Tuesday and Wednesday. Every week of Tabor Rotation plans for readiness grouping on Thursday and Friday.
Want a more sophisticated answer to the question? If a teacher believes that differentiated instruction is a studentâs bill or rights, then all students need additional assistance. The Tabor Rotation Planning Framework plans for EVERY student in your room to receive small-group guided instruction at least twice a week.
Letâs review how a teacher may offer additional help for all students. Days 4 & 5 are devoted to Readiness Grouping. After pre-assessment and Clipboard Cruising, the teacher determines who is above level in their understanding of the weekâs skills and concepts, who is on level, and who is approaching level for the weekâs skills and concepts.
Above-Level, Master Assistance: An Algebra class is studying how to graph a linear equation. Their teacher gave a pre-assessment four weeks before and determined that 2 of his students understood the concept completely. He followed this pre-assessment by giving them the 10 hardest problems from the unit and asking them to explain their thinking. They showed understanding at the concrete, the representational, and the abstract level. These two students met with the teacher first on Thursday to explore how to graph an inequality. The students were asked to share the âconnectionsâ they made between the two types of graphing in the Mathematicianâs Circle that week.
On-Level, Expert Assistance: The second group of students was given the same pre-assessment as the rest of the class. The teacher noted that these students were familiar with the vocabulary needed to graph linear equations and knew how to use a coordinate graph, but were unfamiliar with the procedures for creating a graph of a linear equation. These students explored the weekly concepts through varied modalities. They made more meaningful, real-world connections during the Whole-Group Mini-Lessons devoted to the regression models for the amount of cereal they ate per day and the amount of pen ink two classes in the school used.
The activities at the Tabor Rotation Stations provided hands-on experiences in understanding linear equations. In the Manipulative Station the students worked in pairs to graph the point of a floor-sized linear equation. In the Games Station they competed to see which set of partners was first to find the point on the graph. In Teacher Time, the teacher began the exploration of slope of a line. In the Application Station, students reviewed how to change Plain English into Math Talk.
The teacher used all the information obtained via Clipboard Cruising to determine who had understood the concepts at an expert level but could use more experience in a guided math group based on their interest and learning style. The teacher uses the weekâs activities from the Games and the Manipulative Station to review the concepts and ask higher-order questions while playing.
Approaching-Level, Novice Assistance: The third group of students has struggled with mastery of the weekâs skills and concepts. After being exposed to the concepts in at least 3 different ways, they are still unable to answer some or most of the on-level questions. The teacher thinks about the interests, learning styles, and achievements of this group before beginning the guided, small-group instruction. The teacher begins the at-promise or novice group instruction (often called intervention) by playing a part of a game from three weeks ago. They do this for about 2-3 minutes. The teacher does this because he understands how the brain learns best. His students will learn more about the concepts which challenge them if they begin with something which makes them feel successfulâa Student Snowball of Success.
The small-group, guided math instruction for the Novice group continues with the teacher using a computer program to show the steps for graphing a linear equation. As they observe each step, the teacher stops for discussion. The teacher realizes that more time is needed, so will call this group for a second time the next day.
âHow do you offer remediation or additional help for students during a week of Tabor Rotation?â This post suggested many ways to help students which are easy and have proven to be highly successful.
Every student has the right to meet and exceed their potential. When a teacher does this, the student can quote Buzz Lightyear,
âTo Infinity and Beyond!â
One of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2010 was to post regularly on my blog. Being a goal-oriented, recovering Type A personality (quit chuckling all of you who know me well and find the word recovering slightly amusing), I set a goal of at least 100 blog posts for the year. It’s November 26. There are 35 more days remaining in the year 2010. I have written 66 posts so far this year. That leaves 34 more posts to go.
I’ve gathered questions submitted throughout the year, a 24-pack of Diet Coke, a case of Diet Peach Snapple, and my favorite snacks. For inspiration, I’ve placed a picture of me crossing the finish line of the BP MS150 after a 2-day trip, from Houston to Austin on my bike. With enough caffeine, enough determination, and a few late nights, I’ll greet 2011 with all 100 posted.
âBetween stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and freedom.â â Viktor Frankl
Throughout the year I am thankful for so many things. Dedicated people with undying passion and vision keep me going and inspire me to continue on my mission.
Last week I met with a group of dedicated educators who are joining me in an action research project. While we were discussing the goals of the project, we reviewed the fact that Tabor Rotation is a framework for the highly effective use of small groups and differentiated instruction for all students. Tabor Rotation isnât a program.
One of the educators mentioned the enormous amount of money which is spent every year on programs which will supposedly âfixâ the problem. We all agreed that continual effective, best practice, not programs, will have the most positive impact on a school.
Douglas Reeves states,
âWhen school leaders think about interventions to help struggling students, their attention is too frequently drawn to programs. But the evidence on student achievement suggests that it is practices, not programs, which have the greatest influence on achievement and the highest degree of sustainability over the long term.â
Iâm thankful to be partnered with a group of dedicated leaders who want to see what will happen if a cadreâ of their teachers make practice most important. I am also thankful to have met and worked with over 80 teachers who came on a Saturday to learn more about doing what is best for all their studentsâIMPRESSIVE!!!
âIt is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that things are difficult.â â Seneca
Note: The Tabor Rotation Action Research Project will focus on the impact of small-group, differentiated instruction at the elementary level using the Tabor Rotation Framework. The initial results will be available in June, 2011.
âI canât ever go back to teaching difficult concepts to the whole group. Quite frankly, by the time I finished passing out manipulatives to the class and monitored their use, I just wanted to collect them and end the lesson. Small groups are a gift to my students.â -32-year veteran teacher
As promised yesterday, Iâm posting clips of the stations in the Tabor Rotation FrameworkâŚ
What is Tabor Rotation? Tabor Rotation is a comprehensive instructional framework which rigorously, systematically, and simply differentiates learning in mathematics. One of the highlights of the Tabor Rotation Framework is student-led, heterogeneous, collaborative small groups of students who rotate through learning stations twice a week. Tabor Rotation further differentiates and helps each student reach her potential via small-group, needs-based, instructional sessions with the teacher.
Days two and three of Tabor Rotation have students in four heterogeneous small groups rotating to each of the four stations. Each rotation lasts approximately 20 minutes. Students rotate through 2 stations a day. The four stations are Teacher Time, Games, Manipulatives, and Application.These stations vary the modality through which the student learns and helps provide for the different learning styles and interests in the classroom.
In the Teacher Time station,the teacher works with Âź of the class while introducing and developing concepts which would be difficult to for students in a large-group setting.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/16407046[/vimeo]
In the Games station,mixed groups students practice a concept and communicate their understanding with other students in a competitive or challenging activity. The activity may have the students competing against time, each other, or with partners.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/16415980[/vimeo]
In the Manipulatives Station,mixed groups of students concretely explore a concept and develop a deeper understanding before moving to the iconic phase of conceptual development.
[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/16416147[/vimeo]
In the Technology/Application station,the mixed groups of students spiral back to previously learned concepts by solving problems, using technology, or completing paper-and-pencil tasks.
[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/16416256[/vimeo]
Iâm a visual learnerâI have to see it, not just read about it. Hopefully, these clips will help some of you âseeâ what small groups might look like in a math class.
âI like Tabor Rotation because it lets us play around and learn at the same time, you know, relax.â -Rashine, 3rd Grader
âTabor Rotation has helped me do my work. I do not worry about if it is hard because I know Iâll have different methods of solving problems. Math this way helps me âget itâ.â -Ashley, 8th grader
âI am so glad my teacher started Tabor Rotation. It make math fun and you can learn stuff thatâs hard if you do it another way. I hardly even noticed that we were doing math work. I thought we were having fun.â -Jasmine, 5th grader
The World's Hottest Hamburger & Small Groups in Math???
I was âon the road, againâ in San Antonio, Texas last week. No, I wasnât there to eat the hottest hamburger in the worldâthe â4 Horsemenâ which has the 4 hottest peppers in the world on it. Maybe I should explain…my son and I watch âMan vs. Foodâ and had seen the episode filmed in San Antonio. He was disappointed that I didn’t eat the hottest hamburger, but understood that I was there to continue on my mission to help schools change the way we teach and learn mathematics. (OK, I’ll admit it…I didn’t want to spend the night in the emergency room after taking a few bites of the ghost pepper!)
While I did enjoy some chips and salsa, that wasnât my reason for making the trip. I was conducting a training of trainers module. I worked with some of the most incredibly dedicated educators Iâve ever met. They all left the training days determined to use the information gained to change teachersâ and studentsâ lives.
The sessions were focused on effective strategies to use in small-group, differentiated instruction to build success for students. There were many requests for a visual of what small groups in math look like. This post is in response to their request. For more examples of small groups in the highly effective Tabor Rotation Framework, look on the FREE RESOURCES page of my website beginning tomorrow.
Letâs begin with what flexible grouping is. Flexible grouping is the fluid grouping of students (independent, pairs, small groups, whole groups, etc.) based on the match of the task to student readiness, interest, and/or learning style. Groups may be skills-based, interest-based, heterogeneous, homogeneous, student-selected, teacher-selected, or randomly selected.
Here are some examples of teachers and students involved in small-group instruction.
Why should small groups be used in a math class? Isnât that a lot of trouble for nothing? Through his research, David Berliner made the following conclusions:
The passive child learner, unconnected to other children, not involved in meaningful activities cannot learn as wellâŚ
To sit still and learn is not the best possible way to learn.
The assumption was that math facts had to be taught before problem solving could be. But the reverse approach, in fact, works.
Teaching math facts in the context of real experiences is succeeding beyond anyoneâs expectations.
Still wondering why you shouldnât just teach math to an entire classâall day, every day? Hopefully, the clips in this post will help you get a better picture of what small groups in math look like. Maybe they will convince you to explore using them in your own room.
âThe essence of our effort to see that every child has a chance must be to assure each an equal opportunity, not to become equal, but to become different – to realize whatever unique potential of body, mind and spirit he or she possesses.â -John Fischer
âToday you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.â -Dr. Seuss
âThe greatest teacher is not the one who talks all the time, but the one who listens.â -Lauren, age 14
âChildhood is not preparation for life. It is life.â -James, age 9
âShe says that all energy is borrowed; at some point you have to return it.â -Jake Sully, from the movie, Avatar
I admit it. While on the road and humming a familiar Willie Nelson tune, I’ve been feeding my addiction. For the past few months, Tabor Rotation has been shared with elementary, middle, intermediate, and junior high schools in south Texas, north Texas, and central Texas. Iâve had the honor of working with hundreds of educators who work in a variety of situations. Part of the work I do is in a workshop setting, but one of the best parts of my work is when IÂ “walk the talk” and show teachers what Tabor Rotation looks like with their students.
After one 5th grade demonstration lesson, a group of students was helping me carry my materials and bags back to the professional development room where the debriefing was about to occur. The students were extremely excited about the rotations in which they had been involved and were equally excited to be able to talk to me personallyâwithout another adult listening. Their questions and comments were genuine and honest. Thought I might share them today. The next post will be dedicated to teacher questions and concerns.
âYou get to work travel and work with kids. You must have the coolest job in the world!â
Yes, I answered, I do have the coolest job in the world! I go to schools all over the United States and help them improve the way they instruct math and science.
âWhatâs the coolest place youâve ever been to?â
This may sound strange, but the coolest place Iâve ever been to was a basement apartment in the projects of downtown Baltimore.
âYea, that is weird! Why there?â
I believe that anyone who has a desire to help a student learn can do it. My mission is to give them the tools to do it better. The apartment in Baltimore housed the Homework Hangout. It was a place where kids could go after school to get help doing their homework. The people I trained were mostly Baltimore residents who had, maybe, a high school diploma. But those people knew that they would make a difference if they helped a child. I was able to teach them some fun games and some great ways to teach help students learn concepts. Itâs also the only time Iâve presented and mice came running across my feet during the presentation.
âAre you coming back tomorrow? We promise there won’t be any mice! Will we get to keep doing math this way?â
I won’t be here tomorrow, but I came to show your teachers what Tabor Rotation looks like so they could do it on their own.
That was the end of our walk, but one student had one more question. She wanted to know why I starting doing it [Tabor Rotation]. I could have shared all the research-based reasons why I do what I do. Instead I told her the reason was simpleâŚ
I am addicted to the energy that is released when students are engaged and are making discoveries which I have helped facilitate. Itâs my dream and my mission to help other educators become addicted, too. That’s why I do it!
âShould you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.â -Warren Buffett
âThe average person puts only 25% of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity, and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%.â -Andrew Carnegie
I’m really excited about my continued work in Alvin, McKinney, and schools all over south Texas. Working with you has been a phenomenal experience!
See you in a few weeks, San Antonio! Iâm looking forward to working with all of the elementary-level specialists. I’m going even further south right before Thanksgiving. I’ll be presenting at the RGVCTM Annual Conference (Rio Grande Valley Council of Teachers of Mathematics) on November 20. Would love to meet you and have you in one of my sessions!
And, last but not least, I’ll be heading to Florida next month. Canât wait to see what happens when Tabor Rotation joins Algebra I at Lake Nona Middle/High School!
âAs teachers we need to know what interests [students], what they love so as to turn such interests into education growth in knowledge and positive attitudes.â -Bruce Hammonds
Why is an abstract, multi-media piece of art posted in todayâs blog about differentiated instruction? Keep readingâŚ
Yesterday, as I began my workday and was pondering how to answer middle school and high school teacher requests, my mind was elsewhere. (Are you picturing some of your students right now?) I knew I needed to get to work, but I was staring at the portion of my office I call my âart studio.â Okay, itâs really just a cabinet and some storage tubs, but studio sounds so much more elegant. The fresh tubes of acrylic paint, jars of thickening paste, and blank canvas were âcalling my name.â
I have been developing ideas for a piece for several months. The piece had to pull together multiple ideas and varied mediums. This week all the pieces of the puzzle came together. The sketches were complete and the supplies were gathered. My interest that morning was in the art work, not in activities for Tabor Rotation.
In her study to see if differentiated instruction would have a positive effect on students, Jeanette Della Vedova found
âFor differentiation to work, teachers must put the needs of their students first. The classroom and everything within it must be geared toward a student-centered environment.â
On a weekday, I rarely drop everything and create, but I need to âwalk the talkâ of differentiated instruction. If I firmly believe that a teacher should build on the interests of the students, then I have to build on my own interests.
âIn any classroom, it is critically important that the task we ask students to do is respectful â that it is challenging, interesting, and worth doing⌠Jerome Bruner proved that when interest is tapped, learning is more likely to be rewarding and the student becomes a more autonomous learner.â -Differentiation Central [http://www.differentiationcentral.com/whatisdi.html]
I spent hours completely oblivious to time. I was so engaged I forgot about everything else but the composition and creation of the painting. I was highly motivated to finish the piece and I did. That evening everyone else was in bed and the painting was drying. I sat on a chair nearby and my brain began to make natural connections from my art to the secondary teachersâ requests for more activities on area and perimeter. My mind was so much at ease and so saturated with personal fulfillment that the connection was immediately made. The same thing happens with students when we build on their interests and passionsâtheir minds are open and receptive to knowledge!!!
My understanding of form, balance, shape, and area were used the entire time I was working on the piece. I never completed a textbook page on area, but I knew how much acrylic paint, gesso, and thickening paste was needed to cover the canvas. There wasnât a worksheet on perimeter, but I knew the amount of jute and acrylic paint needed to form the mixed-hue âframeâ around the edge of the canvas. I was engaged because I was interested. I worked hard, not because someone was giving me a sticker or points, but because I wanted to see the completed project. The entire time I was working with geometric concepts. Again, this engagement will occur in the classroom when interest becomes a primary consideration when flexibly grouping.
âWhenever possible, the childrenâs ideas and interests should provide the basis for the content.â -Staab
Having fun with something that interested me will help provide activities for area and perimeter. More than that, it gave me a renewed energy and a sense of satisfaction that being creative always gives. Again, what does this have to do with differentiated instruction?
âIn a differentiated classroom, a teacher sees everything a student says or creates as useful information both in understanding that particular learner and in crafting instruction to be effective for that learnerâŚAll students consistently work with ârespectfulâ activities and learning arrangements. This important principle provides that every learner must have tasks that are equally interesting and equally engaging, and which provide equal access to essential understanding and skills. In differentiated classrooms, a teacher’s goal is that each child feels challenged most of the time;â from âLeadership for Differentiated Schools and Classroomsâ by Tomlinson & Allen
Iâll post the activities next week. For now, Iâm looking at a rectangular piece of canvas which may not make sense to others, but will inspire me for a very, long time!
âOnly those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.â -T. S. Eliot
