IMPLEMENTING MATH STATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM By: Fern Dantzler November 15, 2014

DISCUSS MATH STATIONS AND HOW TO IMPLEMENT MATH STATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM ACTIVITY #1 DISCUSS SETTING UP STATION IN THE CLASSROOM ACTIVITY #2 ORGANIZING STATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM Agenda Math Stations

AN AREA WITHIN THE CLASSROOM WHERE STUDENTS WORK ALONE OR INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER, USING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS TO EXPLORE AND EXPAND THEIR UNDERSTANDING AND LEARNING WITH OR WITHOUT THE ASSISTANCE OF THE CLASSROOM TEACHER. (DILLER, 2003) A DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY TO MEET THE DIVERSE NEEDS OF MATHEMATICS STUDENTS. What is a Workstation?

1. MATERIALS ARE USED FOR INSTRUCTION AND THEN PLACED IN THE WORKSTATION FOR INDEPENDENT USE 2. STATIONS REMAIN SET UP ALL YEAR LONG ( ONLY THE MATERIALS CHANGE) 3. THE INDEPENDENT WORK IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF EACH CHILD’S INSTRUCTION 4. ALL STUDENTS GO TO WORKSTATIONS DAILY (THIS IS OPTIONAL…) 5. MATERIALS ARE DIFFERENTIATED FOR STUDENTS WITH DIFFERENT NEEDS 6. TEACHERS MEET WITH A SMALL GROUP DURING WORKSTATIONS 7. TASKS FOR EACH GROUP IS BASED ON STUDENT’S NEEDS 8. GRADES SHOULD FOCUS ON PRACTICE, NOT PRODUCTS 9. THE KEY IS CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

PROMOTES INDEPENDENCE HELPS STUDENTS BECOME MORE RESPONSIBLE ALLOWS STUDENTS TO LEARN THROUGH SELF-DISCOVERY (SOCIAL INTERACTION, COLLABORATION, REFLECTION) PROVIDES TEACHERS WITH TIME TO PULL STUDENTS ONE- ON-ONE OR IN SMALL GROUPS RESEARCH: CHILDREN LEARN BEST WHEN THEY ARE ACTIVELY ENGAGED, AND WORKSTATIONS ARE ONE WAY OF ENGAGING THEM. Why use workstations?

INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION PROMPT AND MEANINGFUL FEEDBACK BETTER EVALUATION OF STUDENT PROGRESS PROVIDES DIFFERENTIATION BASED ON THE GROUP’S NEED (SAME SKILL LEVEL) HELP STUDENTS BECOME BETTER THINKERS/PROBLEM SOLVERS

SMALL GROUP WORKSTATION GROUPING WORKSTATION ASSIGNMENT TRANSITIONS CONSIDER BEHAVIORS, ATTITUDES, AND WORK ETHICS What to consider when implementing workstations……

GROUP STUDENTS BY ABILITY ADJUST LESSONS AND/OR ASSESSMENTS TO MEET EACH GROUP’S NEEDS PROVIDE HANDS-ON LEARNING AND ENGAGING LESSONS CHANGE GROUPS BASED ON STUDENTS NEEDS USE A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF YOUR GROUPS Organizing Your Stations

WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES, DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING #1 - HOW DO I FIT IT IN? #2- WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO FIT IT IN? #3 – HOW MANY STATIONS WILL I HAVE? #4 – HOW MANY STUDENTS WOULD I HAVE PER STATION? Activity #1

PLAN FOR SPACE LABEL YOUR STATIONS START SLOW BY INTRODUCING ONE WORKSTATION A DAY F OR THE FIRST FEW WEEKS BE EXPLICIT PEER MODEL EXPLAIN CONSEQUENCES INTRODUCE MANAGEMENT BOARD TEACH THEM HOW TO TRANSITION FOCUS ON THE PRACTICE AND LEARNING OF THE WORKSTATIONS PULL SMALL GROUPS How do I get started?

Planning….  Plan time for small group and/or whole group daily  Try to get at least two small groups in each day-(This depends on your school’s plan)  You may meet with your lowest group more than once a week minutes for each group (depends on block of time you have) Devote 5-10 minutes for reflection/wrap up daily

PARTICIPANT WILL….. CREATE INDIVIDUAL STATIONS’ NAMES DESIGNED A TIME-FRAME AND ROTATION SCHEDULE ESTABLISH YOUR NORMS AND EXPECTATIONS DURING MATH STATIONS Activity #2

COMPUTER (IREADY, ENVISON, OTHER DESIGNATED INSTRUCTIONAL WEBSITE) SEAT WORK (USUALLY A WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT FROM THE TEXTBOOK) MANIPULATIVES –RELATED TO A SPECIFIC SKILL (FRACTION PIECES, TANGRAMS, MONEY, ETC.) PUZZLES – (GRAB & GO KIT) MATH JOURNALS – STUDENTS WRITE ABOUT OR RESPOND TO QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE SKILL THAT IS BEING TAUGHT GAMES (SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO THE SKILL BEING TAUGHT OR A REVIEW SKILL) VOCABULARY –(STUDENTS REVIEW MATH VOCABULARY WITH FLASH CARDS OR THE MEMORY GAME) TEACHER SMALL GROUP – TEACHER WORKS WITH 3 – 5 STUDENTS (SHOULD BE ORGANIZED BY STUDENTS’ LEVELS) BEAT THE CLOCK – PRACTICE MATH FACTS FLUENCY

Whole-class warm-up Review station assignments made based on pre- assessment Pull a group to the teacher's station for a structured focus lesson. Other students work at their stations. You move around to monitor their progress when students at the teacher's station are working in pairs or independently. Whole-class closure activity. Whole-class warm-up On-grade-level focus lesson for most of the class Above-grade-level students work on an anchor After focus lesson, students refine their understanding at a specific station or through an anchor activity Above-grade-level students receive their focus lesson at the teacher's station. Whole-class closure activity. Think Big start small. Don’t worry about perfection. Try one station at a time. Listen for Math talk Use stations only when the strategy will help you differentiate your instructions. Not all units work! Model, model, model….. What would a math block look like?

Questions/Comments………………………..