Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Guided Math Workshop #excitingtimes

Linking the professional development offered to my teachers to the instructional focus at each school has already helped to truly integrate technology in meaningful ways for my teachers. Recently, I was able to work together with Melissa Tollison to plan and conduct a three hour workshop session on Guided Math for teachers at Powdersville Elementary. The goal of the session was to give everyone a broad overview of the components of Guided Math, get everyone on the same page, and help teachers feel more confident in implementing Guided Math in the classroom.



During this three-hour session, we really wanted the teachers to experience the components of a Guided Math approach. As the Instructional Technologist, I tried to embed the use of technology in authentic ways throughout to show the teachers how the tools can be used effectively in the classroom. We started with a quick Google Form that asked teachers to rate themselves and used this data to group teachers later in the session.

Next, teachers added their ideas, comments, and questions to posters created for each component. This allowed us as facilitators to see what they already know and to address their questions specifically in our overview.
For classroom environment, teachers paired up to discuss areas in the classroom, making manipulatives accessible, and creating a numeracy rich environment. To keep the discussion moving forward, one person from each pair posted a summary of their ideas to Today's Meet.

Prior to getting in groups to discuss ideas for warm-ups, the teachers completed four 4th Grade Math questions in Socrative. I used the data to demonstrate how this tool can be used to gather data that informs instruction. Teachers worked in grade level groups to talk about this in more detail.

We spoke very briefly about appropriate use of whole group instruction and the limitations before distributing MAP data for each class. This was the perfect opportunity to show that teaching to the middle does not meet the needs of our students! The group also had a meaningful discussion about equality vs. equity based on the popular image below.


My favorite portion of the day was the portion on small group instruction and stations. During this time, teachers were able to visit a variety of Math Stations while Mrs. Tollison and I met with small groups for discussion based on their self-ratings. The stations were organized by color, allowing us to assign everyone to complete the orange "must-do" stations and differentiating the blue and purple "can-do" stations based on comfort with technology. This strategy was an effective way to show teachers what this component could look like in the classroom. It also allowed us to respond to the needs of teachers new to Guided Math as well as those who already had experience using this approach in the classroom. 

The most exciting thing about these sessions was the response of my teachers. Those who were initially nervous or anxious about using Guided Math, left feeling more confident about what it could look like in their classrooms, and many were excited to get started the following day. For me, this was so rewarding, and I've been excited to visit classrooms. I look forward to continue supporting teachers as we implement Guided Math at Powdersville Elementary this year!





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