BLOG TOPIC:

Standards for Mathematical Practice

Teachers Mathematical Beliefs
Problem Solving
Tracking and Detracking
Equity

Article(s) or website you are connecting your blog to: Removing Instructional Barriers: One
Track at a Time

Observation Date(s): 9/22/14
Blog Post Date: 9/29/14

Part 1
General Background of Visit
Setting: North Strawberry Elementary School, Mrs. Birks 4
th
Grade Math and
Spelling Classes
Number and General Demographics of Students: The first class has 19 students.
There are 10 boys and 9 girls and none of them have an IEP. 2 of the female students
are Black, 1 male student is Indian, and 1 male student is Hispanic. In Mrs. Birks
second class there are 18 students. 9 of the students are male, and 9 are female. Once
again, there are no IEPs in the classroom. There is 1 male Asian student, 1 female
Indian student, and 1 black female in the second class. There are no ELL students in
either of the classes.
Special Circumstances: The only special circumstance today was that 5 students
had to leave the class for 30 minutes for band practice.
Part 2
After reading the article, Removing Instructional Barriers: One Track at a Time, I was
very motivated and frankly quite angered. My entire schooling career has been one track after
another whether it was in reading, writing, math, or spelling. I remember how shameful it felt to
be the lower group as well as how awesome it was to be in the highest. Now that Dr. Kimberly
LaPrade has enlightened me about the consequences of tracking programs, I am more motivated
than ever to promote detracking in each of my lessons. Mrs. Birks is a wonderful mentor teacher
to observe when it comes to differentiated learning. Being the primary math teacher of the entire
fourth grade, she deals with students of all achievement levels. Her day to day lessons must be
differentiated as she teaches the students together. The classes as a whole are grouped into
ability levels, however Mrs. Birks makes sure to seat the lower achieving students in each
class next to the highest achieving students. One thing this article really emphasized is the vital
role that teachers play in detracking the curriculum. The generally recommended strategy for
detracking is to raise the bar and provide support for students to meet those demands. This
places the onus on educators to discover the methods that will provide the support. (LaPrade,
pg. 743).
The lesson today was a perfect example of differentiation in the classroom. Each student
picked a partner at their table and Mrs. Birks made sure that each partner would work
appropriately together. The students were then told to create their own multiplication word
problem that used 3 digits. The students not only had to write their problem, but solve it, show
two strategies that can be used to solve it, and illustrate it with a picture. On page 748 of the
article, there is a table that compares the traditional classroom to a differentiated classroom. The
first item in the differentiated column says a variety of instructional configurations exist. The
small group work is a perfect example of an alternative instructional configuration that
encourages student learning. Mrs. Birks provides multiple resources and materials for her
students as support. This concept is another factor of differentiated classrooms shown in the
table on page 748. I have observed the students using ipads, resource journals, and
manipulatives to enhance the lesson. The biggest connection I made during this class was how
the lesson allowed for many answers from the students. There was no right or wrong answer,
and instead the students created, solved, and explained their own problem! Much deeper
learning was achieved by each student, and each student was able to work at a level that made
them comfortable. The overall set up catered to the multiple intelligences of each student in the
class. It was a wonderfully run lesson and it provided me with a great example of differentiation
in action. In successful schools where the gap is closing, the attitude of the community is that
every child can and will learn. They do not blame the environment. (LaParde, pg. 742). I was
pleased to see that throughout the day, every student in the fourth grade was completing the same
type of assignment, in different ways, and with different types of support. The students who
were struggling were not simply thrown into a less-challenging course. This is the opposite of
what differentiation promotes. Lower tracks may contain less of the intended curriculum.
Tracking, by its nature, suggests a differentiated curriculum. (LaParde, pg. 741). In sum, it is
never the curriculum that should be differentiated, but the instruction.