This semester I’m working in a resource algebra class. Most days, there are six students. Their math abilities are varied; obviously they are all “behind” in some sense but some students have more difficulty with the assignment than others. What I’ve noted recently is the teacher’s ability to quickly adapt his lessons to meet the individual needs of his students. Monday, he handed out a packet of seatwork to his students. They needed to do all the problems on the fronts and backs of four pages, and show their work. But! If the student could show him that he or she is capable of doing this work, then that student was exempted from having to complete that page and could spend more time on skills that were still developing.
I thought this was brilliant! By individualizing the work the students do while they are in class, he is able to tailor lessons to their needs and not waste their time on things they know when there’s more critical work they need to do. Not only that, he’s able to do it on the fly, which probably works a lot better overall than planning in advance for six different lessons and trying to orchestrate them during a single class period.
I will definitely keep this experience in mind when I’m teaching. Especially in special education, it’s critical not to waste time when the students have so many other things they could be learning and necessary skills they could be practicing. I think this shows foresight — the teacher is looking at the “big picture.”
