Reflect after reading Chapters 2-4:
How do we form collaborative groups and where will these groups work? Why does room arrangement matter?
Consider the following questions:
- What is resonating with you from the reading?
- What caused you to pause and think during this section?
Respond and Interact
After reading these chapters, please post your response to one {or more} of the prompts above. Read our colleagues' reflections. Feel free to respond to someone by sharing a comment, insight or interesting possibility.
These three chapters really got me thinking! I do random grouping by pulling popsicle sticks so kids can see that it's random, but probably not as often as I should in order to make it the most beneficial. This is something the chapter got me thinking about and wanting to implement more. I also find myself putting the students in pairs rather than trios...also something to implement more!
ReplyDeleteI also love the idea of working on vertical surfaces. I've never really thought about the idea of kids feeling anonymous when sitting and how much easier it makes it to disengage. I know it happens, just didn't really understand the why behind it. A couple years ago, after a math training, Whitebooks were ordered for our team. I loved using these and definitely saw the benefits to students thinking and engagement. The problem I have is finding enough space to put them up around the room where they can stay. The times I've used them have been great but have taken a lot of time just for set up and take down. I'm going to figure out how I can make these surfaces a more permanent part of my classroom!
In chapter 4 I like the idea of defronting the classroom but am trying to think how this would actually work in my classroom. I think it would work great for some subjects but might be difficult for others. Since kids are in the same room all day in elementary, I'm having a hard time picturing how this would look. I do move around a lot, but the front of the room is still the front of the room and we use it as a gathering spot several times every day. A lot of great things to think about in these chapters for sure!
I enjoyed chapter two and agree with what Shawna said about lready using random grouping. This idea wasn't new to me but i was still glad to read and refresh my thinking around it. Just yesterday, i threw three stuffed animals in a bag and had the kids pick to make groups (almost like a sorting hat). While it had ZERO to do with my math lesson, it made it fun and the kids were excited to see who went where. I think just adding that extra element in to make third graders happy, enhanced their engagement of the lesson and they worked hard to solve the division word problems because they knew their 'house' was counting on them.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading I chapters 3 and 4, I felt like i am making moves in the right direction with random groupings and de-fronting the classroom. Each week kids pick from a jar to see what color table they end up at. Sometimes i need to make changes but mostly they are required to sit and cooperatively work with that table group each week- not totally de-fronting the classroom- but i do have many spaces for students to move and work in our room. Each Monday morning when students arrive at school, they are excited to see who joins them at their table. They are so engaged this way and i hope it motivates some of my reluctant learners to come to school on Mondays. I have flexible seating and flexible spots throughout the room so i think it means i am working towards a good place with defronting.
The first time I read this book - defronting a classroom sounded completely crazy to someone who might be a little OCD {like maybe me 😂} But I like how Liljedahl pushes me to think. We can't expect different results if we always do the same thing. If we want a different/better outcome, then we have to change something. Sigh. Change is hard....but change can also be GOOD.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but I'm going to change so my whiteboard is theirs and not mine. I think my biggest struggle is going to be keeping them from doodling. Hopefully with only one marker that won't happen. I also liked reading how a very clean room is not good! Feeling a little better about my organized piles! :)
DeleteI already only teach small groups as a MAP instructor, however I see the importance of randomly finding who works with who. I am excited to change my room to a vertical one and find ways to pick who works with who. With the room arrangement I don't have a lot of room in my space. I only have 6 desks though, so my thinking is I will rearrange them each day, my goal is to make each day different. Keep them guessing and maybe thinking...
ReplyDeleteI read Mathematical MIndsets by Jo Boaler, in that book she talked about having small groups and giving, group roles assigned tasks: facilitator, recorder, resource manager, team captain. I am now rethinking this, but wondering if a combination of these might be important. With students in K-5 I wonder sometimes if we need to teach them how to be in a small group. But here I go again trying to get them to mimic... I need to have more faith in them and let them think about how this will work.
These chapters were great to read as I was able to see myself in many of the teacher moves that were being described. I laugh because several years ago I began using Class Dojo to do random groupings, but really it wasn't entirely random because I would redo the groups if I saw kids were together that I didn't want together! After reading this, it probably would have been better to just show them exactly what I was doing and go with the first group chosen. 🤔 Last year however I was able to use the card strategy and the kids and I both loved it!
ReplyDeleteSome thinking I am doing around this is how I can support teachers in rethinking their classroom layout! I did flexible seating for years where kids did not have their own desk. It can be messy, but it was also very purposeful. I wonder how I can support teachers in taking baby steps to rethinking the arrangement of their classroom. The possibility of the new Flat Panels might help with this. 😉
Chapters 2-4 emphasizes on the optimal structure of student group formation, tools for the task, and classroom organization for ideal thinking classrooms. The idea of randomizing student groups to enhance thinking is something for me to note down. We break up the class into different teams for certain tasks. Usually, the students go back to the same team they worked with before. But randomizing the students will give them the opportunity to switch roles, and therefore encourage them to think differently and more creatively.
ReplyDeleteThese chapters got me thinking of how we already arrange our teaching/learning areas. Being a small group instructor adds a different element to the mix than a regular classroom with 25-30 students. Some of our smaller groups may only consist of 2-3 students, in which there is little to no wiggle room as far as how they are grouped together. One thing that did have me reflecting on how I currently run my groups is that depending on the day and what we have planned I am frequently moving the desks around to support that. I do, however, often find myself positioning students to face the front of the room so they can easily see what is written on the whiteboard. I will be considering the configuration of our workspace a lot more now.
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