A couple of the kids in my main placement are slow, but accurate, workers. In math, for example, they usually are able to solve the problems, but if the class is assigned 20 textbook problems and then followup work, they will only get through 5-10 of the textbook problems. My CT has modified their assignment so they are only asked to do every other textbook problem, and that is usually all they finish in math, if even that.
I realize that I don't understand why they are slow - is it stamina, focus, motivation, or something else? As I think of these kids heading to middle school, where classes are increasingly tracked, I suspect they'll end up on the lower track even though they understand the material.
Should these kids have speed goals, or is that completely inappropriate? Is speed developmental? A good place to start in figuring it out will be to ask them...
I realize that I don't understand why they are slow - is it stamina, focus, motivation, or something else? As I think of these kids heading to middle school, where classes are increasingly tracked, I suspect they'll end up on the lower track even though they understand the material.
Should these kids have speed goals, or is that completely inappropriate? Is speed developmental? A good place to start in figuring it out will be to ask them...
I am puzzled: I'm reading that you see them doing accurate work and later that they may also know the material.
ReplyDeleteIf children understand the material that they're practicing, what is the learning goal of doing more practice problems? Is "doing a set amount of assigned work in a given amount of time" the learning goal?
Presumably my CT assigns the full set of problems to most of the kids to give them exposure to the concept from several different angles, and I'm inclined to believe that practice with the concept over a range of problems does help the kids understand and process and retain the knowledge. So, kids who are putting in the time, but not getting the broad exposure, may not be walking away from the lesson with the same learning as those who get the broad exposure.
ReplyDeleteBut, I would also argue that speed is a part of mastery. Certainly, in literacy, there is a reading rate at which a teacher would become concerned about how effectively a student is reading, even if they are reading accurately at that rate.