Noticing Blog: Week 11

          One thing I have been trying to work on during guided practice for both literacy and mathematics is circling the room to ensure all students understand the strategy we are working on. During my mid-semester conferences with my mentor teacher and field instructor, one of the aspects I talked about working on was making sure I am providing all students with support, not just the students that are considered struggling at the third grade level. The students that are considered struggling in my classroom are at a first grade reading level, and the students who my mentor teacher considers advanced are students who are at a second grade reading level or a beginning third grade level. While my first choice would be to cater and work with my struggling students, I began to notice that my higher level reading students also need guidance during partner practice. During my mathematics and reading lessons, I have been circling the classroom and stopping to talk with each group. Whether I am steering groups back on track or providing support for groups, I have noticed an increase in student confidence levels and the intellectual discussions my students are having that I was perhaps missing out on by focusing my attention on one group. At a professional development I attended on the gradual release of responsibility, the instructor talked about modeling and guided practice, and how our students do not need more modeling, but just need the support in their guided practice. This idea and teaching philosophy has stuck with me, and I have began to incorporate less modeling and more guided practice for the students to use the text, materials, or word problem to advance their learning, with the teacher as a "guide on the side."