6th Grade Math
Flipped Mastery
Blended Learning
This is the first year 6th grade has been a part of Humboldt secondary and we are excited to incorporate all our new students into the middle school. This year we will be trying a combination of two teaching strategies in an effort to serve all of our students on a more individualized basis to meet the diverse needs of our student body: blended learning and flipped mastery. Through these two strategies we hope to engage our students in a new way in order to help them learn to their fullest potential. Read more below!
Blended learning is a formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online delivery of content and instruction with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace. My classroom will have enough computers for half the class to be on the computers at a given time. Every student will spend half a class period on the computers on instructional websites playing games, working on activities, or engaging in research to further their learning.
Typically blended learning is used as a supplement to direct instruction - a main lesson taught by the teacher. However, this year we will also be trying flipped mastery, so instead of the technology being a supplement to a lesson taught by the teacher. Students will learn on the computers and have additional help from the teacher and their peers through Math Review, Problem Solving, and AVID Tutorial as well as individualized check-ins.
Flipped mastery is a relatively new teaching method that we would like to try with our students. Through this model, students work through lessons at their own pace; they practice through assignments and activities that have been laid out by the teacher in advance, but get to choose how much time they spend on a given topic until the student has felt they have mastered it. When students are ready, they take a test on the subject matter and once they pass, they can move on to the next topic.
In the past, this model has been neglected because of the work required to monitor 100 or more seperate learning paths students take, but with advancements in technology, we feel we can execute it effectively. In this manner, we hope to address the individual needs of our students, fill in the various holes in education from previous year, and prevent gaps in education for years to come.
"AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination, is a college readiness system for elementary through higher education that is designed to increase schoolwide learning and performance. The AVID College Readiness System (ACRS) accelerates student learning, uses research based methods of effective instruction, provides meaningful and motivational professional learning, and acts as a catalyst for systemic reform and change." (http://www.avid.org/abo_whatisavid.html)
As a college readiness magnet school, Humboldt is dedicated to preparing all their students for college should they choose to go and preparing those who pursue other options with skills to be successful. One of those programs - AVID - provides us with a classroom tool called Tutorial among other tools.
Tutorial is essentially a study group guided by a teacher and lead by students. It provides kids with an environment to provide questions on concepts they don't understand by presenting a problem they are stuck on in a group. This is a safe space to make mistakes and admit gaps in knowledge with a common goal of helping each other understand concepts as fully as possible. While one student presents their problem, a group of 6-7 other students works through it with them by only asking questions that lead to deeper understanding. All students take notes on every problem and whether asking a question or helping another student out, every student finds that they are learning through collaboration.
Through this activity, I hope students develop the skills to be advocates for themselves by identifying where their own misunderstandings are and asking questions to find a solution.
If you are thinking of worksheets and worksheets of word problems when you think problem solving, that isn't what I'm talking about. One of the biggest assets of kids learning math is that they develop the ability to problem solve. St. Paul Public Schools has embraced this ideal and worked to incorporate it on a regular basis.
In my class, students will be presented with a problem roughly twice a week that will require them to call upon prior knowledge to solve a problem. They will first work on it individually and then compare answers and solving methods in a small group where they have to come to a consensus on a solution. During this time, students can walk around to see what other students have done and decide which method is the best. They will then come together as a large group to explain their method and decide what their final answer is.
Besides the obvious application of building problem solving skills, I also hope to teach my students 21st century skills such as inquiry, collaboration, writing, and public speaking skills in order to make my math class both practical and applicable to the real world at all times.
AVID Tutorial
