How do I make math stations more effective?
Whatâs the most important resource for Leaders and Co-Leaders?
How do I make sure that students arenât just receiving guided math instruction from me but are also guiding each other and themselves?
One answer is,
âMake sure you create a Leader Folder for every station and every activity during the Rotation to the 4 Stations [One of the 14 Essential Elements of the Tabor Rotation Framework and a vital component of a week of Tabor Rotation].â…
âIf I had thought about it, I wouldnât have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you canât do this.â    -Spencer Silver (inventor of Post-it adhesive)
People typically don’t read long blogs. But, this one is well worth the read! A few weeks ago, I had the incredible opportunity to visit a school who took a team of teachers who have used the Tabor Rotation Framework for a semester, a couple of available classrooms, an enthusiastic math specialist, a supportive administrative team, a little bit of time, a little bit of sweat, andâŚcreated a Math Lab!…
Questions, questions, questionsâŚI LOVE them! Why? I love questions from administrators and teachers, because if no one asks a question, then itâs highly unlikely that they will use the information. Tony Robbins says,
âSuccessful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.â…
Like any good invention, the Tabor Rotation Framework came out of necessity. A couple of decades ago, I realized that my students needed a better way to learn mathematical concepts. I had almost 40 students in a class, a classroom with no walls, fewer than half of my students on grade level, less than 60 minutes to teach math, and my students would be taking MSPAP (Maryland School Performance Assessment Program). …
“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”    -Dorothy Parker
One of the most powerful tools a teacher has available is objective observation. In a differentiated math classroom, especially one that makes use of math stations, observation is essential. I was reminded of this in a conversation with an administrator who had hired me to assist her school in the sophisticating the ways in which they instruct mathematics.…
Go ahead and read the title of this blog again. I’ve been thinking about it for almost 24 hours. Itâs what my 4th grader told me last night after dinner. He and his sisters were allowed to choose anything they wanted for dinner. They chose a famous chef’s ravioli concoctions.…
âThe doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.â -Flora Whittemore
âMy basic principle is that you donât make decisions because they are easy; you donât make them because they are cheap; you donât make them because theyâre popular; you make them because theyâre right.â…
