I’m Juli Dixon and the moderator for tonight’s #SwDMathChat. I am a professor of math education at UCF, a textbook author, and a professional development provider. Tonight, we will be discussing small group instruction in mathematics. Q1: What would you like us to know about you?
I’m Juli Dixon and the moderator for tonight’s #SwDMathChat. I am a professor of math education at UCF, a textbook author, and a professional development provider. Tonight, we will be discussing small group instruction in mathematics. Q1: What would you like us to know about you?
A1. Hi Juli. I am a Instructional Staff Developer and Math Coach in Pinellas County, Florida. I'm happy to be part of your first Twitter Chat!
#SwDmathchat
I give my whole class an activity/assignment. While they work on it, I pull 3 to 5 students over to cover the material more in depth or remediate. #SwDMathChat
A2 I think of the teacher working with a small group (3-5 students) while other students are working at stations/centers that are designed for independent work. #swdmathchat
It sounds like we have a common understanding of pulled small groups. They are different from what I call concurrent small groups where all students are working in groups on the same task. #SwDMathChat
A2 I think of the teacher working with a small group (3-5 students) while other students are working at stations/centers that are designed for independent work. #swdmathchat
#SwDMathChat I'm proud that my last year in the classroom, I was able to have varied & rotating groups (again needs-based) in a co-teaching model & the other Ss were able to be independent on review of grade-level work 😍😍 Awww! I loved my last classes.
Q2 From St. Louis... pulled small group instruction, to me, is ensuring that students get the level of scaffolding(C,R,A) they need to make sense of math at their current place along a trajectory. #SwDMathChat
Boy, wanting to try to do #ElemMathChat and #SwDMathChat simultaneously, while watching mixed doubles curling! #SwDMathChat Q1 I'm now math specialist for a children's chorus, will be directing small group work with volunteer coaches.
Your "proud moments" are terrific -- but you probably know what is coming next... Q4 What’s your biggest challenge with pulled small groups? #SwDMathChat
Q3 That my students have learned to swim around a problem comfortably in front of each other, and that they understand the brain grows more when we fail, as long as we keep swimming. #SwDMathChat
Managing the rest of the class is tricky. What happens too often is that the rest of the class gets busy work to keep them quiet -- this is not our goal... #SwDMathChat
Yup, and we will be doing https://t.co/JaDCMjjL4B in their first sessions! Mostly one-on-one, some two-on-one (students to coach). My goal is shifting coach role to "why" instead of "what". #SwDMathChat#ElemMathChat
Your "proud moments" are terrific -- but you probably know what is coming next... Q4 What’s your biggest challenge with pulled small groups? #SwDMathChat
Well, again the on task part. But also, time. It’s sometimes hard to have meaningful interactions with small groups in a short time. Because ideally you would want to pull multiple groups in a class period. #SwDMathChat
Q3 That my students have learned to swim around a problem comfortably in front of each other, and that they understand the brain grows more when we fail, as long as we keep swimming. #SwDMathChat
Well, since I don't have a job any more, I'm able to pick up some new adventures. But doing three things simultaneously right now isn't going that well. I need a pause button on all three! #SwDMathChat#ElemMathChat
Well, again the on task part. But also, time. It’s sometimes hard to have meaningful interactions with small groups in a short time. Because ideally you would want to pull multiple groups in a class period. #SwDMathChat
Well, again the on task part. But also, time. It’s sometimes hard to have meaningful interactions with small groups in a short time. Because ideally you would want to pull multiple groups in a class period. #SwDMathChat
Yes, but to answer A4, I’m a math specialist, and I find challenge in the fact that students are often taught gimmicks instead of strategies. It’s like being taught reading without letter-sound understanding.
These are both significant challenges. I find that I have to be OK with not getting to the same place with every group. The Ss needs drive the pace. #SWDMathChat
Thank you! I saw the results when I made the switch from utilizing tasks that fit GROUPS, and instead began creating interventions for each of my STUDENTS, that I pull in small groups to work with. #SwDmathChat
Ha ha -- you mean a book that could be coming out in July focused on pulled small group instruction? What do you hope to find in that book? @DrBrooksla@MCarliLovesMath#SWDMathChat
A7: I agree with Joe! Let the students do the talking. Ask focusing questions, not funneling questions, that allow students to share what they know. #SwDmathChat
#SwDMathChat A7: many of same discourse-oriented strategies I would use in a larger group, but I really really get to listen to all of the students in my small group, so hopefully can fill in some holes in my understanding of THEIR understanding.
.@mathman1970 talked about using students' names. How about other strategies? Q8: How do you handle the silent pulled small group of students? #SwDMathChat
A7 Planning for misconceptions and developing questions facilitate the thinking around these misconceptions. Also... planning scaffolding that may never be needed.
Our teachers have a similar schedule. We also have some who co-teach so that looks different. In the 30 minutes, what is your focus? I have found that 30 minutes is short and that many of our sped teachers are focusing on having kids know their facts.
#SwDMathChat
A4: What to have teachers focus on when they only have students for 30 minutes a day & how to move them away from focusing on kids only knowing their facts. #SwDMathChat
#SwDMathChat A8: try to make sure they have something in their hands to bring down affective filter & gently persuade them to say/show something with the tools in front of them.
.@mathman1970 talked about using students' names. How about other strategies? Q8: How do you handle the silent pulled small group of students? #SwDMathChat
In my experience, Ss benefit more from structures that support classroom discourse similar to those used in whole-class instruction (as long as that, too, is discourse rich). This enables students to do more of the sense making as long as rich tasks are used. #SWDMathChat
Our teachers have a similar schedule. We also have some who co-teach so that looks different. In the 30 minutes, what is your focus? I have found that 30 minutes is short and that many of our sped teachers are focusing on having kids know their facts.
#SwDMathChat
A4: What to have teachers focus on when they only have students for 30 minutes a day & how to move them away from focusing on kids only knowing their facts. #SwDMathChat
I’m veering away from traditional math centers and instead am utilizing student to-do lists that are updated monthly. I pull my small groups and work on specific missed questions shown through district assessments and iStation ISIPs. #SwDmathChat
So love this! Just realized that all those geometry proofs with fill in the blanks are really someone else's thinking - no wonder they are so hard for students! #SwDMathChat
A8: No opt-out! Some students have learned if they keep quiet, they won’t ever have to answer questions. Provide appropriate think time and don’t let them off the hook! #SwDmathChat
Q9 -- this is a repeat because I have not seen a response and I think it is a crucial question -- are your students homogeneously grouped or heterogeneously grouped for pulled small groups? #SwDmathchat
#SwDMathChat A9: I used to think homogen was absolutely nec b/c if hetero why pull them? Keep them whole then. Now I know that Ss have to make sense of math w/each other, not me, & I almost insist on there being +1 for any group I pull.
Q9 -- this is a repeat because I have not seen a response and I think it is a crucial question -- are your students homogeneously grouped or heterogeneously grouped for pulled small groups? #SwDmathchat
A9: Both. For me has depended on circumstance - sometimes you get whoever is "free" during that time block, sometimes you really need to understand how these three Ss think about [this] thing. #SwDMathChat
