This is an issue that has really been
bothering me. Maybe it is drawing my attention because I have always struggled
in math.
In my classroom I am noticing how quickly
the math curriculum is being covered. The math units fly by so quickly and students are
being left behind to kind of “figure it out” on their own or to learn it from
their parents at home. It's amazing to me how quickly the math chapters are
covered and how much time we spend each day on math. The problem I see is that there isn't that much
support for the struggling math students. I understand that because of this
year’s snow we have had fewer school day and many teachers have been playing
catch up, but I am concerned that I am seeing so many students in my class falling
through the cracks when it comes to math. Based on how much emphasis is being
put on the math portion of our
required state testing, one would think that there would be more support for
students who are struggling with math in every single district throughout the
state. BUT, I do not see
extra support in place for these struggling students. My cooperating teacher has her hands full with
24 students so I see how kids are slipping through the cracks, but there has to
be a way to help these students who are “lost.” I am wondering why a student has to have an IEP in
order to receive support in math.
Are you observing the same problem in
your classrooms? What
in your your estimation, is the answer?
I have noticed that the math units go by very fast in my school as well. However, my cooperating teacher does a good job with helping all of the students. For example, when we begin a math unit, she will do a preview the previous day. She does this by putting a bonus question on the board or sometimes there are preview questions in their math books. The next day she will give a lesson and use an interactive site that goes along with our math curriculum. The students are very responsive to the interactive site and they get to work on math problems as a class. After that she then reviews what they just did and the students do 2-3 problems individually while the teacher walks around to support the students who need help and then they do those problems as a class. After they do the problems as a class on the board and then the students work on a math worksheet individually that they hand in. Once this sheet is handed in the teacher can see who needs help. Since I am there, my teacher and I have been co-teaching during math.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we do have a student who is "lost" and is in need of extra help. In this case, the teacher has been collecting paper evidence of this student struggling and has contacted the guidance counselor who has set up an appointment with the students’ parents. This meeting will decide if this student should get help in math.
I really think my distract has a good plan in place for the struggling student. I hope this helps and perhaps you and your cooperating teacher can do some co-teaching during math.
I agree as well, because I see it in the classroom that I am observing too. Children are so behind in math and don't even know how to count numbers up to 20 and they are in the second grade. On the other hand others in the classroom are advanced in math and the ones that are on the grade level are all over the place. Some catch on to the math problems and lessons being taught quicker and others take a longer time. So, the math lesson is taught and if the students didn't understand it they still move on to the next lesson the next day and they just review a little from the previous day but the issue is that the most important concept is not mastered, and they just keep on going on to the next lesson. I think this is the biggest issue and co-teaching is the only way that might be very helpful. Having the two teachers in the classroom can help the students who need the extra help before they move on.
DeleteI feel that the math units do go by fast and the snow days definitely play a part in that; however, my cooperating teacher does a good job making sure the students do not slip through the cracks. When there are struggling students, we slow the lesson down. We sometimes work on the same concept for a few days, teaching the concept in different ways. If there is only one or two students struggling, we work in small groups with those students. A great way to help struggling students is the use of manipulatives. We had a student struggling with subtraction and regrouping. My cooperating teacher pulled her aside and worked with her using ten sticks and ones cubes. Manipulatives are a great way to help students see math problems in a visual form. We constantly are using formative assessment and individual measurability through the use of white boards and actions such as giving thumbs up. This way we can see who is struggling and needs the extra support. The ones who do need extra support, we work one on one or in small group with while the class does extra practice on that concept. In the beginning of each math chapter, we also give an "Are You Ready for Chapter" quiz, which is only used to assess what the students know. It is not graded. Then we give mid chapter checks and things like that throughout the lessons to see progress and if students are struggling.
ReplyDeleteThe school always recently started a program called "The Ketchup Crew." One of the teachers works with students during recess to catch up on what they missed or to provide extra practice in struggling areas. The teachers are allowed to send a few students from their class each day. My teacher will send students who need the extra practice. It is a great idea and the kids love being apart of "The Ketchup Crew."
I also find math units to go by very fast. There is so much information and we do spend a lot of time on it during the day, but there are also many students who struggle but must move with the pace of the class. I notice in my classroom that many students struggle with simple math (addition, subtraction, etc) and because of this struggle it puts a strain on them when it comes to chapters such as measurements or money. My cooperating teacher tries as much as possible to go back to these facts every so often to give some “refreshment” .. even though many of the students truly do need more then one day of this. When we do centers in the morning and afternoon, we put students together in a group that are struggling in the same area and focus on what they need. If my coop knows that the students will be completely lost before moving on, she will spend a day or two more of that lesson. We also have resource teachers that come into the classroom a few times a week and pull out the students who are struggling drastically. I think you should try math centers where you can work on all different areas students may struggle with.
ReplyDeleteI do believe a majority of the day is focused on language arts and the rest of the subjects get squeezed in. I’m in a second grade class and they are already working on multiplication and division. The math series is a little difficult I think for second grade. She uses manipulatives and visuals for the students to get a better understanding of the concepts. My cooperating teachers sets up stations where students work on different things pertaining to every subject matter. At the math station, she likes to have the students work on addition and subtraction problems so they don’t forget regrouping and what they have already learned. For the students who are advanced, she gives them different math sheets at their station. Overall, I think most of the focus in the classroom is on language arts.
ReplyDeleteThe question you posted was very interesting and thought-provoking. Teachers are expected to cover a certain amount of material each year and will be judged harshly for falling behind and not getting to everything. It almost seems as though teachers can go with one of two options: either slow down the math instruction to make sure all the students understand and be penalized for not going far enough into the curriculum, or keep more at the rate assigned and watch some students simply ‘fall through the cracks’, as you put it, because they simply cannot keep up. The situation with math instruction to suit the needs of all your learners is a difficult one no matter what angle you approach it from. After brain storming though, I came up with a couple ideas.
ReplyDeleteI know this might be difficult or even impossible now while you are a student teacher and ultimately a guest in another teacher’s classroom. However, when you have a classroom of your own, perhaps math tutoring is something you can think about. You could communicate with the parents of students who need more individual attention than others in math and are prone to falling behind or becoming confused and ask for their permission to have their children eat lunch in your classroom 1-3 times a week. During this lunch session, you could tutor the students in the math topics being covered that week in class so that they do not fall behind. Perhaps you might just do this out of your own kindness and concern about the students falling behind. Or, perhaps you could talk to your principal after a couple weeks of keeping records and taking data on the impact that the tutoring has on the students and if there is improvement, perhaps your principal would considering paying you for the tutoring. Either way, time spent in a smaller group with these students might be just the reinforcement they need in order to keep up with the fast paced math curriculum. During these small group sessions, the teacher could re-teach concepts that struggling students missed during whole-class instruction, or present practice or review activities to reinforce ideas that students need to gain confidence about.
I agree that the snow days have definitely taken a toll in the instruction time, but in my case, I think my cooperating teacher and the “strategies” teacher do a really good job in not rushing the curriculum while still reaching those who excel in the math. The strategies teacher is a teacher that comes in twice a week in the class to focus on helping a few students who are particularly struggling. She teaches the entire class the first time in the week and basically co-teaches with my cooperating teacher. She then focuses on these struggling students more in a small group the second time she comes during the week. My co-op teacher also has differentiated activities for them to do and modifies the type of problem each group of students are working on. My co-op teacher, the strategies teacher, and I are able to do a lot of small group instruction. The students who are struggling are getting help from strategies teacher are not classified, and I am really glad that they are still getting help from one of us. What I did notice before I started taking over the class is that the situations were opposite. There was more time spent on math and less time spent on language arts. With me taking over language arts thus far, and my co-op teacher still teaching the math, there is now a good balance in the time the class spends in working with both subjects.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you brought this up. I too have always struggled with math so I am sensitive to the subject and can relate to those students who struggle. My cooperating teacher is very good and does not allow the snow days effect her teaching. While we of course have to get though the material, when a student is struggling we pull them aside either during snack or for a couple minutes in the morning or after a school to help them. With that, I am currently tutoring a little boy in a different school, but same district. He is struggling big time and his mother was recently told (during her first meeting with the teacher) that he will probably fail math for the year. This class is 4 units ahead of where we are. IT IS THE SAME DISTRICT....how could this be?!?! I asked my co-op and she said that that school tends to rush through math. He cant be t he only student struggling and it is only March, what are they going to do in May and June? This is a major problem and very upsetting to me as well. Snow should not effect our teaching, the time has to be made up. Let's not rush these kids, because we loose them on the way.
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