The fourth grade team at my school is fantastic at working together to help all the students reach mastery. All three teachers teach the same math lessons. (with their own teaching style of course) But after every unit test the teachers evaluate which students need some reteaching on the concept just tested. So for one whole week the fourth grade classes are split up for 30 minutes. There are 3 groups at 3 different readiness levels. Group one did fantastic on the test and are clearly ready for the next step so they are put into a challange group where they are taught more challenging concepts based on the subject of the last test. The middle group needs a little bit of help still and they are getting a quick re-teach of the concepts that were most tricky on the last test. And the last group is not up to par at all. These students get down to the nitty gritty basics of math and get a reteach on the simpler math problems they are missing. For example the last unit was on 2 digit by 2 digit multiplication. This lowest group reviewed basic 4 x 6 = 24 multiplication problems.
I think it is fantastic that the whole grade level is willing to really tier their math instruction based on the students needs. I think that is very powerful that they are taking the time to fix the problem before moving on. This 3 group reteach/enrich is a fantastic way to differentiate and I hope that when I get a job that my team of teachers will be just as willing to differentiate.
I agree, Brianna, and I especially appreciate your excellent description of what this team does. I would call it "reteaching" differentiation, or "after-the-fact" differentiation. What would "proactive" differentiation look like, if it could be done this well? How does the "reteaching" differentiation measure up compared to the Hallmarks? (3 pts.)
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