Differentiation.
Differentiation.
Chills? Memories from bad dreams? Cold sweats?
Differentiating instruction is something that I've really been working on this school year. When our test scores came out, I was back hand slapped with the fact that I didn't do so well differentiating for ALL students. That is where my drive for this year stemmed. It grew even stronger when I met my students.
Last year, over 80% of our 7th graders met growth. My question? How in the world am I supposed to keep them high as well as show growth for those bottom 25%.? My brain started spinning in circles to determine how to show growth for these students.
First, make each and every lesson either applicable or so much fun that they don't even ask about its applications. This takes a lot of planning on my end. To be honest, I've taught a lot of lessons off the fly. Not my proudest moment(s)...
Second, identify my strong math thinkers. These are my students who are just "naturally" good at math. Show them one time and they've got it. They don't always care for discovery tasks, but they'll do anything you ask of them. These are NEVER helpers in my class.
I could use help on how to push these students even more. I don't use them as helpers because they usually aren't good with deeply explaining concepts or identifying and finding the source of mistakes. They typically say "Oh, that's the wrong answer. Here's how you do it correctly, because this is what I did. I don't know how you got your answer."
(I always have a line of students who want to be a helper. I'm still planning out the best way to have helpers. If you have any ideas, please enlighten me!)
Lastly, my strugglers. Oh, my dear strugglers. No lie, struggling students are usually my faves. Probably because I spend the most time with them... I have Struggling Students 1, 2, and 3.
Student 1. He is very capable. Extremely capable, but equally lazy. He sits on the front row. At the beginning of the school year, he had me fooled. His answer to every single question I asked him was "I don't know." Eventually, one day, I pulled my rolling chair right in front of him and rested my hands on my face. He said "I don't know." And I just stared at him. He let out the loudest sigh and proceeded to work the problem. He worked a few steps with limited guidance, and then said "I don't know what to do next." I rolled my eyes and continued to stare. Y'all. He laughed so loud. I told him that he wasn't getting rid of me. He said "Ms. Watson, I'm not playing this time, I really don't know what to do next." I reminded him of the next step, and he went on the complete the problem. That was earlier in the school year. Now, he can pretty much work on his own, but I stop by his desk every now and then to make sure his work is good. If he isn't working, I just give him "the stare" and he gets right to work. "I don't know" isn't his first go-to to get out of doing work because he knows it won't work! Sometimes, we'll be sitting together working a problem. I'll know that he doesn't want to work, but I still pull my chair up, sit right beside him, and wait for him to work. We both think it's quite funny.
Student 2. He is actually Student 1's partner. This is his first full year in a general education classroom. His 7th grade year was supposed to be his first full year in gen ed, but he was sent to alternative school. He was accustomed to not really doing anything in class and being passed on. WRONG! I've just recently gotten a breakthrough with this child. He is low, but he is beginning to do the parts that he knows he can do. His biggest struggle is remembering what he's learned from day to day. For example, when we were learning the Pythagorean Theorem in rectangular prisms, he could get every single problem correct 2 days in a row. He knew that if he had the length, width, and height, all he had to do was to multiply them by themselves, add them, then take the square root. On his quiz, he forgot all about multiplying them by themselves and taking the square root. He set the problem up correctly, but then he just added his 3 dimensions. Ugh. Frustrating for him and for me. So. What do I do?
Oral tests and quizzes. This kid can explain to me the process of how to work it. He can talk it out, but can't quite seem to put it on paper. This may not work, but then again it may. He is retaking his quiz orally this week. I'm trying this with another student as well.
Student 3. This kid is my biggest struggle. He is severely below grade level. Partnering him with other students is always a catastrophe. No exaggeration. Earlier in the school year, I'd decided to work with him on equations. But how? If I could get him good on a few topics, he just might show growth. But more than that, he could show some success in 8th grade math. Asking him to pay attention to lessons is like asking me to pass up on a Snickers at the end of the day. I mean, there's a super slim chance that it'd happen, but let's get real. Do y'all have any ideas (if you even make it this far in the blog, it's quite long. Sorry!) for this type of student? I've thought about having him work on Khan Academy, Buzzmath, or some other app/website at his level on certain math topics pertaining to key concepts in 8th grade math.
My principal has constantly said that the way to get that bottom 25% of students to grow and become motivated is by building relationships with them. I never truly understood that 'til this year. I have a great relationship with almost all of my students. And they are truly working to do well (which is very different than in the past).
Until next time,
-C. Watson
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