Most of us as educators are driven by excellence. We want to inspire students to achieve their best and illuminate concepts in such a way that the once complex topics become simple. We want to achieve deeper understanding, increased engagement and improved pass rates with every semester. In order to reach that goal, we often experiment with different approaches, ways of explaining things, and pedagogical tasks. Whether successful or not, we keep trying with a sense of optimism that surely this time, with this new innovation, we will be on the road to forever solving the problem of why some students struggle with math.
At least, that is what goes through my head at the start of each semester. But, inevitably as the semester progresses the harsh reality of the fixed and varied skill level of students sets in. My optimism is quickly replaced with a realism that, despite my best efforts and innovations, some students will excel and some students will really struggle.
What I have found, though, is that strategic use of class time can really mean the difference between passing and failing for those weak students. The plain fact is, that those weak students need far more time engaged with the material in order to achieve the same results that a more gifted student might achieve in far less time. But so what? So what if it took Joe 10 hours and Sam 10 minutes to master the topic? In the end, those two students may arrive at the same level of mastery.
The challenge then, for the educator, is this: How can I maximize the class time in such a way that the weaker students spend the most possible time actively engaged with the material? Lecture. Hands-on applications. Group work. Independent practice. Review activities. We do all these things as components of our teaching throughout a given semester. Sadly though, I have found that many students, especially the weaker ones, tend to disengage from any given activity at about the 20 minute mark.
Observing this fact, I began structuring class time with this attention-span in mind. Every twenty-minutes I decided to change the activity, and in most two-hour blocks, I chose to teach two unrelated topics. If we worked with ratio and proportion questions in the first hour, I would jump to algebra in the second hour. The result: the students, especially the weaker ones, were certainly not bored or just waiting out the time in a disengaged state. They were maximizing the minutes in class more than ever before, and in the end achieved far better results.
At least, that is what goes through my head at the start of each semester. But, inevitably as the semester progresses the harsh reality of the fixed and varied skill level of students sets in. My optimism is quickly replaced with a realism that, despite my best efforts and innovations, some students will excel and some students will really struggle.
What I have found, though, is that strategic use of class time can really mean the difference between passing and failing for those weak students. The plain fact is, that those weak students need far more time engaged with the material in order to achieve the same results that a more gifted student might achieve in far less time. But so what? So what if it took Joe 10 hours and Sam 10 minutes to master the topic? In the end, those two students may arrive at the same level of mastery.
The challenge then, for the educator, is this: How can I maximize the class time in such a way that the weaker students spend the most possible time actively engaged with the material? Lecture. Hands-on applications. Group work. Independent practice. Review activities. We do all these things as components of our teaching throughout a given semester. Sadly though, I have found that many students, especially the weaker ones, tend to disengage from any given activity at about the 20 minute mark.
Observing this fact, I began structuring class time with this attention-span in mind. Every twenty-minutes I decided to change the activity, and in most two-hour blocks, I chose to teach two unrelated topics. If we worked with ratio and proportion questions in the first hour, I would jump to algebra in the second hour. The result: the students, especially the weaker ones, were certainly not bored or just waiting out the time in a disengaged state. They were maximizing the minutes in class more than ever before, and in the end achieved far better results.