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Re: Ability grouping (was:Re: Affective learning in mathematics; What is math?)
Posted:
Dec 12, 1996 9:58 AM
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Carol wrote:
> I am a new teacher and I appreciate someone bringing in some
> research into this discussion rather than just stating opinions. From
> what I have observed this year with my students, I believe that my more
> gifted students gain a greater understanding of the math concepts by
> helping me teach the other students. My students enjoy helping each
> other out and I enjoy having "helpers". I allow my students to advance
> as quickly as they wish by providing them with individual work folders
> that contains work appropriate to what they can do. This is *extra*
> work and not all my students complete much in this folder...and that's
> ok! My students (first grade) are very motivated to help each other and
> all are advancing at different levels with heterogenous grouping.
I think you'll see a difference by the time they're in third or fourth
grade,
though, depending upon how the general classroom is managed. First,
differences
will be much greater at that level than at first grade. Also I'm not so
sure it's a good idea for a student to always be an auxiliary teacher,
whether
in a particular subject or across the board. It conflicts greatly with
the
assumption that all students are "peers." Again, your mileage may vary,
depending upon how you structure your learning environment.
As a fifth/sixth grade teacher I do know that I have seen many students
who have had a lot of anger at always having to take the role of
tutor and never being in a position to actually be taught something
new themselves. The heterogenous/homogenous question is by no means
cut and dry. I will say, however, that often heterogenous grouping
seems to be a code word for homogenous grouping by age. Once we all
switch
to multiage classrooms, then much of the hetero/homo debate will
be moot.
>
> There is so much more to education than learning how to compute
> problems. If we teach our children the most advanced mathmatics
> without allowing them to communicate with each other and help each other
> out we may end up turning out a bunch of unibombers. Who wants complex
> math ability without the human connection? I certainly don't.
Agreed, though I think we'll have some unibombers no matter what
classroom management techniques we use.
-Paul
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|Paul MacFarlane - Danville,California - pmacfar@value.net |
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