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.
Wow!! These last three chapters were mind-blowing! I read chapter 2 and the next day, I tried random grouping with a deck of cards. The engagement and thinking was dramatic. Students loved it. I was so amazing by this one change, that I read chapters 3 and 4 that night and went to school the next day and created table groups of three (not quite able to de-front the classroom but there are many spaces for students to move and work in their small groups). That morning when students arrived at school, they cleared out their desks and put everything in their cubbies (and yes, it all fit). Every day since, students walk in the door to receive a new card and sit with a new group. They have embraced the experienced wholeheartedly. It's made teaching exciting, too. I shared my experience with my grade level team, and two other teachers who have not read this book yet, followed in my footsteps and created groups of 3, moved all student materials to their cubbies, and are doing random groupings every day. One of my toughest students got to sit with his best friend two days in a row, based on the cards, but on day three, he was with a new group, and he was perfectly fine with the change. We have had to navigate a few bumps in the road, such as what to do when two students simply cannot sit together for behavior reasons, but it has created good conversations with my grade level team and we have come up with strategies together. Another positive is with no materials in the desks, students are not playing with all the "extras" that sometimes arrive at school or school supplies that become toys (such as post-it notes), so they are more focused on what they should be doing and on thinking. I am excited to see what results from this new design and feel hopeful that the engagement and group participation (both small and large) will continue to grow.
ReplyDeleteI was smiling the whole time that I read this, Julie! To discover one small move that can create such a big impact is GOLD. Love this so much!
DeleteI was excited to see that random grouping was actually helpful for getting students to think. I do random grouping at times for my classroom, and the students love working in those groups. I will also do other types of grouping, but I think I want to focus more on random grouping. One thing that I notice about my students is even when we go into random groupings, I still have some students who will rely on others to do the heavy lifting (thinking) even after going over partner expectations. Is there a way that other people have addressed that issue that has worked for them?
ReplyDeleteOne thing that caused me to pause was when the chapters mentioned defront the room and how it not only changes student actions but teacher actions. I wondered how this would work during times when you do want them all to look at a specific spot in the classroom for a short period of time. Would it cause them to be more or less focused. I also like the idea of the directions of the desk because then you have groups working on their own things and could potentially help them collaborate with their group better.
I love this book and it is also making me get out of my comfort zone. I have started some random grouping, not going to lie it was a bit of a crazy town. We used popsicle sticks to make the groups and the kids loved it. They were really excited to do there groups this way (and a bit hard to keep focused sometimes). Before we were just using sit partners. That was mostly because it made the best use of time. But I think by doing the random grouping it changed the dynamic with students. I noticed quieter kids being more involved and better team work.
ReplyDeleteWhat was challenging was just getting out of my old comfort zone. The sit partners are quick and easy for me. And what I noticed was the random partners were better for the kids. They just were so much more engaged.
I do have the front of my room open and have not tried random seating there yet. Maybe that will be next.
These chapters have given me some good challenges and I'm just going to keep making changes that are most productive for my kids.
Wow! What great chapters. Like others have mentioned, the random groupings was the first change I made. I often do random groupings, but, like the chapter suggests, they're randomly made behind the scenes, so when students see who their partner is, they don't believe it to be random. And honestly, not always are they actually random. Also, the working in trios rather than partners for fifth grade has worked very well.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving this idea of "knowledge mobility" and really see how the vertical surfaces and vertical problem solving benefits all and makes that thinking visible to all. Along the same lines...sitting = anonymous. Anonymous = likely to disengage with own learning. This caused me to keep reading, because I want ENgaged learners, not DISengaged learners!
Ok, defronting the classroom. I actually move a lot when I teach. I'm going to have to think on this a little bit. I do have students in groups which I think yields much better than the results of rows which I've had before. Again, still mulling this over, but love the exciting seeds it plants in my brain!
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!