We are far beyond the place where "guess"timations and assumptions are adequate methods of deciding how to teach our students. We know that we have set curriculum that needs to be taught, and we know we have set standards that have to be met, but the methods we use to reach those goals are not set in stone. Every year we have an entirely different group of children in front of us, which means we have an entirely different set of needs learning styles, deficits, talents, and abilities. What worked well last year, may not be the ting that reaches anyone this year. We have to make sure that we are constantly analyzing the data on our students, and using that information to drive our instruction. it would be senseless to spend two weeks teaching regrouping to a class that understands it well. Sounds silly, but sometimes we do just because we had to spend two weeks doing it last year, and we have a "really cool" project that we made a couple of years ago. We have a ton of information to get across to our students. We might as well make best use of our time, so that our efforts will be effective. Data is constantly changing, because learning is constantly occurring. We have resources available to help us attain data. Let's use it to help us continuously drive in the right direction!
|
AuthorJuantonia Hill is the Math Instructional Coach for Southfield Public Schools. This blog represents the latest headline story inside of the monthly edition of Teacher Talk. Archives
March 2015
Categories |