Episode 27: Mathematics Rotations
REFERENCES:
The Pueblo Chieftain article about Haaff Elementary school: https://www.chieftain.com/story/news/education/2020/12/16/haaff-elementary-math-rotations-keep-students-engaged-online-learning/3926025001/
INTRO:
In today’s episode I’m going to talk about math rotations. I’m purposefully not calling them centers because they are true rotations of students from one station to another during your math instruction time. But maybe you could use these tips today as a modified version of your Language Arts Centers- although I have discussed at length Language Arts Centers in Episodes 5 Parts 1 & 2.
CONTENT:
The inspiration for this podcast came from an article in The Pueblo Chieftain by Austin White called “‘A game changer': Haaff Elementary math rotations help keep students engaged.” The link to the entire article is included in the show notes. This article was dated mid-December, 2020, roughly one year after the Covid-19 pandemic began. Haaff Elementary, located in Pueblo, CO decided to work toward engaging their students while online by providing math rotations. First, I’ll talk about what these teachers accomplished online. Second, I’ll discuss how this can also be accomplished with in-person learning in the classroom.
The staff at Haaff Elementary had noticed a steady decline in student engagement during lessons over the past 20 years. So this was a problem they were well aware of. During the pandemic, Haaff teachers didn’t want their students to fall behind in math class or become even more disengaged. Enter- math rotations.
Here is how their math rotations went and I highly recommend this format for yours as well. As always, I have made these directions work into a “Top 5”- you’re most welcome!
Meet the whole group of students together for 15 minutes to go over any announcements, directions, and goals for the rotations.
Pre-assess the content and divide students into a group with similar-level peers. In order for this to be accomplished in real-time, I’d hand out the pre-assessment during the whole group time and have the students complete 2- 4 or 5 short questions. Then, I’d have a place in my classroom or link on my Canva page or PPT or breakout group for the students to go and check their answers. You could be standing there to ensure this is accurate or in that breakout room waiting for students.
The students break into their three or more activities. Activities can include games, interactive videos/questions, pencil and paper instructions, among other options but quick work- all rotations should only last about 15 minutes each. Not sure where the students should go? This is how I would organize it and put these directions right on the table where the students are checking as well as posted in the break out room on the computer. Say you have 4 questions on the pre-assessment. Are all 4 questions correct? You’re in the blue group. Go to station #1. 3 out of 4 questions correct? Go to station #2. 2 out of 4? Go to station #3. And, if a student has only 1 out of the 4 questions correct or none at all, they go to you.
Ensure 1 group is always with the teacher doing small group instruction. It’s critical for you to see all of the students who need additional instruction and were not able to successfully complete the pre-assessment well on their own. So I would most definitely begin rotation #1 of the timer period with the students who received a 1 or 0 out of 4 questions on the pre-assessment. You could work it so you see the 4 out of 4 questions correct students or the blue group or don’t hold yourself to that level of sophistication. This should be easier instruction for you and for your students so whatever group comes to you in whatever order, just go with it.
Come back together as a whole group, debrief, answer any questions, turn in work, etc. Don’t skip this step! We often don’t come back together after a break out activity with our students so it super important that you do so here. Plus, you can get the inside information on what was happening in the other groups, how the assignments or apps were that were in each group, who was working, who wasn’t, etc.
Sounds easy right? Here are a few more insider tips I’d use to make things go smoothly.
First, practice this all together to ensure your students know what to do, where to go, and what is expected of them. If you are doing this as a grade level, maybe practice with your colleagues so that all of the kinks are worked out before you add your students into the mix.
Second, watch your time. Set a timer and stick to it! Each rotation should be 15 minutes. So let’s do the math: 15 minutes for whole group, 15 minutes x 4 rotations- that includes one rotation being you, 15 minutes debrief. Total time: 1 hour and 30 minutes. Don’t have that kind of time? Try 10 minute rotations- that would equal 1 hour total.
Third, make the stations simple. Games should be brief, any extra practice worksheets are truncated and shortened, your mini-lesson is “just the facts.” And don’t work too hard finding things. A deck of cards, simple games you have, 1 app- bam! You’ve got rotations!
Fourth, remember that a smaller amount of time at each station yields less, more succinct content. You may find that you’ll get through the content slower than if you were to teach something to the whole group. BUT your students will know the content better at the end of rotations. So pick your poison.
Finally, don’t do this every day! First, it’s quicker so you don’t want to stress yourself out that you “can’t fit the math lesson into 10 or 15 minutes” and have that keeping you up at night. No my friend! Pick a day to do math rotations where you need to review, ensure your students really understand a lesson, or want to push them and see their limits mathematically. Maybe once or twice a week (ambitious) or once or twice a math unit (better).
Why did math rotations work for the teachers at Haaff Elementary when they switched to remote learning online? One teacher noted, “I was competing with video games and technology, and I realized I needed to make my lessons shorter, more engaging, active and lively. Especially now, kids have so many different things going on at home … It’s really important for students to be engaged and doing something rather than staring at a teacher on a video screen or even in person.” I think the same can be true for in-person learning too. Shorter, more engaging mini-lessons can really help students stay on track, work smarter, be more engaged, and keep the learning moving forward.
Did it work? Short answer: yes! The Haaff Elementary teacher stated, “I really have noticed the kids more engaged. They’re turning in more assignments; their eyes are on the screen more and it’s because we’re moving fast and doing different activities.”
So consider adding math rotations to your repertoire either before the end of this school year, after a school break, or sometime next year. It may be a great way for your students to remain engaged in the learning and get more math done!
Here are the 5 recommendations for math rotations again:
Recommendation 1: Meet the whole group of students together for about 15 minutes (or a bit less).
Recommendation 2: Pre-assess the content and divide students into a group with similar-level peers.
Recommendation 3: Have the students break into their three or more brief activities.
Recommendation 4: Ensure 1 group is always with the teacher doing small group instruction. And finally,
Recommendation 5: Come back together as a whole group, debrief, answer any questions, turn in work, etc.
OUTRO:
I hope you have enjoyed this podcast and want to listen to more. Please subscribe to Get Off the Dotted Line! I can’t wait to share another podcast with you.
Thank you again for joining me, Dr. Paige Hendricks in today's episode of Get Off the Dotted Line! See you next time!
