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As students move through a lesson, some acquire information and skills more quickly than others. Some students will need additional support, scaffolds, feedback, or reteaching to understand key concepts and apply specific strategies, processes, or skills. We must […]
A teacher recently asked me whether students always need to attend every station in a rotation. The short answer is “no.” Our classrooms are composed of diverse groups of students with different skills, abilities, preferences, language proficiencies, and […]
Choice boards are a fantastic tool for honoring learner variability and providing students with meaningful choices. Not every student enjoys the same task, so giving them options is critical to maximizing their motivation and focus in a lesson. […]
Let’s start with a quick review of the playlist, or individual rotation, model for those who have not heard of it. A playlist is a sequence of learning activities designed to move students toward a desired result. Most […]
Written by Noelle Gutierrez Educators know the importance of academic vocabulary instruction. Student knowledge of academic words and phrases has a direct impact on their ability to acquire and comprehend information, which is why it should be a part […]
At a recent workshop, a teacher posed a compelling question about the effectiveness of small-group versus whole-group instruction. This inquiry always prompts me to reflect: How many educators gather pre-assessment data before crafting their lesson plans? Such preliminary […]
In my last blog post, Using the Station Rotation Model in Math, I wrote about the benefits of shifting from a whole group, teacher-led lesson design to small-group differentiated instructional sessions. I make the case that the whole […]
Math is a linear subject, with each concept building on the one before. Math teachers are also responsible for covering a large number of standards in a school year. Most math curricula are designed for a whole group […]
In my work helping teachers to shift from whole group, teacher-led lessons to differentiated small group student-centered learning experiences, I am asked questions that seem grounded in the belief that students cannot learn without the teacher. When I […]
In my last blog post titled “Part I: Maximize the Impact of Explicit Teaching with Blended Learning,” I explored the benefits of shifting from explicit teaching as a whole class experience to a differentiated small group experience. I […]
As a blended learning expert, I’ve worked with educators who sometimes mistakenly assume that blended learning means abandoning explicit teaching or explicit instruction. In this blog, I’ll explore how teachers can maximize the impact of explicit teaching when […]
In my last blog post titled Part I: Station Rotation Design Tip – Go Horizontal with Your Linear Agenda, I shared a strategy I refer to as “going horizontal” to help secondary teachers shift from traditional whole group, teacher-led […]
