EDP 3273 Blog #4

In Unit 6 of the book, we read about classroom management & grouping. In the last few weeks, I have been able to put into action some of the things I have read about in the classroom in which I work. I have also been able to see how it affects the students in their academics and socially. 

When planning a lesson, it is always important to have a plan for how to handle unwanted behaviors. Even when you think the lesson will go smoothly, your best student could turn the lesson around quickly. That is why it is pertinent that you have a plan on how to redirect any unnecessary behaviors. In my current classroom, I was asked to plan a small group lesson for our English 1 students who have trouble reading. These students were grouped together by the ability grouping method. The teacher provided me with a reading comprehension worksheet that has a small blurb about a science topic with about 5 questions at the end. The worksheet of the day was “How old are trees?”. To begin the lesson, I talked with the students and gave them a little knowledge about the different types of trees we would be reading about (instructional conversations). At first, I asked the students what they knew about trees. Most answered that trees grew from the ground, they were usually brown and green in color, they had leaves and branches, and that birds had nests inside them. We started to discuss what types of trees they had heard about before. This got them ready to start reading the passage. After reading the passage, we were able to answer the questions easily together as a group. 

Just last week in class during math, we were doing an addition activity at each table (we have two students per table). The students were each given a double dice and told to roll them, add the two numbers, and then add their two sums together. One table was answering quickly and the other was having a hard time working together. So, the teacher used the cooperative learning approach and swapped partners according to ability. Both teams were then able to complete the tasks at hand a lot better after the switch.

Also, in module 19, we read about between-class ability grouping, while the school I work at uses this for their regular education classes but in my program (Access Points)- they have the students grouped by grade level. I can see why using the between-class ability grouping works best when you get to the higher grade levels because it helps keeps the ability gap smaller, therefore, making teaching a little easier on the teacher. 

Reflective Questions 
 Why doesn’t the education system use between-class ability grouping (tracking) in elementary school anymore? 
 Why is the sustaining expectation effect so dangerous to a student's academic growth?

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