I've been trying to design learning experiences to meet the needs of all students. As any teacher knows, that's not an easy task.
The more I know this group of students, the more the design fits their needs and interests.
As I think about my outliers today, the students who aren't the easiest to serve, I recognize that these students are my greatest teachers. They're the ones pushing me to read more, think more, and try more new ideas.
So today, as I tried a strategy that mostly worked, I realized that it's important to reuse this strategy often in the days ahead so that those students begin to have a sense of routine and expectation about math class. There's comfort in knowing what to expect particularly if you're a student whose challenging to teach.
Therefore I'll follow today's template, a template that began with a video followed by a short lesson and then tiered activities including a short and targeted exercise and followed-up practice and enrichment activities. At the end we had a wrap-up that included an engaging video which tied the exercise to other disciplines and real-world events.
I hope this model will help some of my outliers relax a bit more and avail themselves to learning with greater confidence and comfort. Let's see.
