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... other students. Additionally, there are some students who enjoy personal attention from peers and who prefer to learn from a child's explanation, rather than from that of an adult. Unfortunately for the teacher, he or she cannot be in more than one place at a time.
When students are working on different tasks, at different stations, and on different levels, the teacher must devise a system for organizing students and managing both the students' time and that of the teacher. Depending on how the students are grouped on any given day, the teacher should make it possible to personally meet with every student every day. This may include meeting with a small group of students, observing students at centers, or one-on-one assistance. If a teacher is working with a small group of students, every other student in the class must have something to do.
The student should work on an activity that is challenging and promotes positive learning for the student. The students should not simply be sitting at their seats or playing games with no educational purpose. There are many approaches to grouping students for instruction. The chosen lesson, the students' needs and interests, and student learning preferences will dictate how the teacher will separate students for instruction. Prescribing Enabling Activities Materials Management A major component of an individualized program is self-discovery of concepts through hands-on manipulation of geometric objects and shapes, and the use of other games and activities to reinforce concepts. The notion that mathematics is an abstract, textbook approach subject is simply untrue.
Mathematics should be as engaging as science tools and as entertaining as the books in the class library. Building a bank of materials, whether it be commercially made or personally made, is vital to the implementation of the program. Most schools also have a mathematics resource room for using materials that are unfeasible for supplying in every classroom. Mathematics materials should not be thought of as games for reward and free time activities, but instead should be used in conjunction with instruction as a major part of the curriculum. It is beneficial for teachers to select an area of the room for storing mathematics materials. Organize the materials in large see-through bins with clear labels.
This way, students will be able to find the materials they need and return them without misplacing them in a location where they will be difficult to find. Along with typical mathematics materials, supple the storage center with paper and crayons or chalkboards and chalk so students can make charts, graphs, or draw at any time. The organization of tables and chairs, learning centers, activity tables, and materials storage containers will allow for smoother transitions between learning at the student's seat and moving about the classroom. In supplying your materials, provide duplicates of popular items.
Excess materials reduce arguments about sharing, increase cooperation, and keep students on task. Another important stocking concern is the introduction of new materials. This sustains student interest and maintains a challenge for the students. Because materials are sometimes hard to come by or time consuming to make, rotate materials in and out so that they will seem fresh, even if they have been previously used. Keep in mind that mathematics materials should be used with a purpose in mind. The materials are not supplied just to keep the students busy.
Each game or activity should have clear directions with it and contain all possible materials that go with the activity so that the students use the material properly and understand its purpose. The activities and materials that the teacher selects should be built into lessons and also be effective for independent use. The selected materials should promote mathematical reasoning and emphasize skills such as comparing, recognizing and extending patterns, hypothesizing, spatial sense and measurement, and statistics and probability. Because geometry, measurement, and fractions can be very hands-on orientated, there are a wealth of materials that can be used in learning centers, with instruction, and individually. Examples of math materials As with all instructional activities, document student use with mathematics materials. Students can document and evaluate their use with materials.
They can keep a record of the activities they participate in and any modifications they make to the activity. Keep these evaluations near the storage center and periodically transfer the evaluation to the student's portfolio. Obstacles to Individualized Instruction Individualizing instruction is no easy task. Individualized instruction is a large undertaking because it requires great effort. A teacher must research individualized instruction ad develop a plan for implementation. Teachers who see the importance of individualized instruction but feel they can wing it will find the program unsuccessful.
However, teacher patience, extensive planning, and belief in the program will prove beneficial for students and teachers. A common characteristic of many great teachers is the ability to be creative and bold and attempt new things. Teachers who lack energy and creativity for the program will relay this attitude to their students. Additionally, individualized instruction might not be widely practiced in a particular school and the teacher may feel like he or she is alone in the process.
Solicit the help of fellow teachers and lobby for support form administrators. As previously mentioned, teachers must be patient with the individualized program and not expect immediate successes. As with behavior modification plans and implementation of new curriculum, a new instructional format will require adjustment on the part of the teacher. Most importantly, believe in the program, have a system for implementing the program, and encourage the students to see the value of the program. Record Keeping Because of the nature of an individualized instruction program, student progress is not measured along the same continuum. Student achievement goals, learning activities, and rate of learning are all specific for each individual student.
For this reason, teachers cannot assess student progress using identical methods for all students. Again, how records are kept and the nature of assessments must be strategies that are appropriate for each student in order effectively meet the needs of the individual. Record keeping is as important for the student as it is for the teacher. The goals that were outlined by the teacher, parent, and student at the beginning of the unit should be the guide for all assignments and activities. These goals should be kept in a portfolio for easy reference and as a way to self-monitor the progress for the student. The portfolio should also be a means to keep assignments and self-assessments.
The teacher can use the portfolio when meeting with the student, parent, or both. Individualized instruction requires that students play an active role in both the learning process and the evaluation process. However, there is also a place for teacher evaluation. Rubrics can be decided on for the student at the beginning of the unit. While the performance indicators can be specific for each child, it seems practical for the teacher to design a rubric for each van Here level, with modifications for any students that require it.
These rubrics allow the teacher to assess in context, rather than assign an arbitrary grade. The teacher should place the rubric in a file folder. Activity checklists allow the teacher to make observations of a child's skill proficiency in geometric tasks such as construction and manipulation of objects. Checklists can be used to evaluate students at learning centers, during group work, and on teacher-designed tasks.
By nature, individualized instruction programs require a great deal of accountability. Parents and administrators want to know that the student is learning and will require proof. Using an effective record keeping system including rubrics allows the teacher to assess learning and report it to those concerned. Most students do not enjoy tests, and many teachers do not enjoy giving them, however, testing is inevitable. Assessments should be individualized for each student, however, the test should be challenging to every student, regardless of level. Teacher-developed tests and standardized tests tell us a great deal about what the child has learned.
If a student scores a 70 % on a math test at the end of the geometry unit, it can mean many things and must be looked at in context. If the student scored 20 - 30 % on the tests at the beginning of the unit, then it is clear that the student has made great personal gains (although there is much more to be mastered). If a student scored a 70 % at the end of the unit and scored 65 % on the tests at the beginning of the unit, it is clear that the student has made no real academic gains. The student's program should be reevaluated to determine a plan that will maximize the student's potential.
A good way chart a child's progress is with record keeping programs like databases and spreadsheets. Databases allow the teacher to analyze student progress, while spreadsheets can convert data into graphs to give a visual representation of the student's progress. While it would be nice to give every student an A, it is impractical. A system for reporting grades is necessary for the teacher to decide how to evaluate mathematics skills and processes, attitudes and dispositions, and student progress and efforts within the unit. Much of the evaluation process will be described later, however the evaluation is based on this system of record keeping. Student Assessment Student assessment involves much more than assigning letter grades to students in each subject area.
Instead, an assessment is an overall evaluation of student achievement, progress, and attitudes, as well as teacher evaluation of instructional practices and effectiveness of learning programs. Assessment makes it possible for students to be accountable for their learning and teachers to be accountable for their teaching. One of the most important things to remember about assessment is that the student should be aware of what and how they will be evaluated. Assessments should also take on various forms to account for student differences and evaluation preferences.
Most students to not like to take exams because they are stressful and are often a poor example of what students actually know. However, student assessments are important and students should be held accountable for what they have learned. With this unit, performance tests help students demonstrate what they can do, rather than recall of obscure facts like many tests do. Students must show that they can apply their learning to novel places and demonstrate a technique for using mathematical strategies. These performance tests will be beneficial for problem solving tasks, manipulation of objects, construction activities, and identifying patterns and relationships. Performance tasks can be evaluated in real-learning situations or learning centers through teacher observation using a rubric with performance indicators.
This way, the teacher can describe the mathematical processes that the student is capable of doing, rather that simply assigning an arbitrary letter grade, which only compares a student with his or her peers. Achievement tests have their place in the evaluation process. While the process is nearly as important as the product, as educators, we want students to be solving problems appropriately. Parents, administrators, and school board officials (as well as teachers) want to know that students are learning skills that follow the curriculum. Additionally, students need to know that they are solving problems correctly, and if they are not, the teacher needs to determine why that is the case. Evaluation of This Plan Appendix
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Research essay sample on Record Keeping Learning Centers
