My Take on Math Instruction

I'm sure if you have done a quick search on Pinterest with anything in regards to math instruction, something about "math workshop, math rotations, math centers" will likely come up. It seems like it's the new way to teach math to students...and I'm not against it at all.

After seeing all of these searches on Pinterest, I had to try it out for myself. My first go at it was during my first year of teaching. I hated teaching math whole group. I noticed that student engagement was very low. Yes, some students were listening to the lesson and participating. However, a greater number of students were not engaged. As an educator, I felt that I was not reaching ALL of my students. So, I went to Pinterest and stumbled upon this idea of math workshop, rotations, centers, etc. and thought that I'd give it a go.

Now three years later, I don't see myself ever returning to whole group math instruction. Through my version of math workshop, I am able to meet with my students in small groups and observe each student's strengths and weaknesses so I can provide quality instruction to them. While I am providing instruction and teaching new content, the rest of my class is working on a variety of different math tasks, such as lesson work, Moby Max math and a project based learning (PBL) activity.

Below, you will find a description of what happens at each of the stations during math instruction. My math instruction is 60 minutes long, so students spend roughly 15 minutes at each of the four stations.

Teacher Station: At this station, students meet with me at my kidney shaped table in a small group. Group sizes range from 6-9 students, which all depends on the number of students in my classroom. Students normally bring a whiteboard and marker with them. During this time, I teach students the new lesson for the day, while also providing examples and time to practice together. I am able to assess students formatively through observations quickly and provide instruction to address errors or strengthen skills.

Lesson Work: Right after a group of students meets with me to learn the lesson for the day, they return to their seats to complete their lesson work for the day. My school district follows Everyday Mathematics, which includes a math journal that includes practice pages on the skills learned in that specific lesson.

Moby Max: One of the other stations requires the use of laptops. My school setting is not 1:1; however, I am able to checkout a cart of 16 laptops to use in my classroom. At this station, students go on the website Moby Max. Moby Max is a website that creates personalized learning for students, and it includes a range of different subject areas. Each student has their own account and they are able to practice specific math topics and skills. I, as the teacher, can also assign specific content to students.

PBL: The last station that students visit during math instruction is based on a PBL activity. In my previous blog post, I mentioned how my students are currently working on planning their own dream vacation. However, the PBL activity can be any activity that fits the needs of your classroom.

At the beginning of the school year, I go over each station in depth with my students. We begin practicing how to rotate and move throughout the stations. We also create expectations so students know what they should be doing during all the different parts. In my opinion, this is the most important component when deciding to make the change to this type of math instruction. It will be much more successful if students are aware of the expectations and know exactly what to do and not do.

Like I mentioned earlier, I really do enjoy teaching math through these four different stations. From the feedback I've received from my students, they enjoy it as well. If you haven't given math workshop, centers or rotations a try, I would say you have nothing to lose!