Marc Gibson -Using Flexible Learning Groups Within the Curriculum
As part of our digital professional learning, Marc Gibson presented the way his school worked with 75 students in a class of 3 teachers. Students worked in flexible groupings that sprang out of the workshops and the roles of teacher as "Taskmaster" and "Coach". Learners select workshops based on their learning needs (taken from the Literacy and Maths Learning Progressions).
The systems within the class were well unpacked with students in term 1 of the year, timetabling was changed each week and a method for students to upload their work to a Learning Progression was established. Students select and sign up to at least 1-2 workshops in each subject area on Monday with the help of a teacher.
Teachers have a different role each week over a three week period. In Reading the coach works on the end goal and students work on one task for the whole week, a task that fits with any book. A set of 8 texts is selected each week. Students click on the title to see other complimentary reading and challenging reading related to the book. This meets the requirements for "Multimodal" learning. Students do not work in ability groups although the lower readers do work together but are still part of the book choices for homework etc.
The class site is shared with parents so they can see what the book choices and tasks.
In writing the students have to complete one piece of writing for the week. During this time the ESOL students leave the room.
In Maths there is a Hotspot activity in the main learning area e.g., fractions. The teachers work in three roles as coach, problem solving and workshops. There is also a Heart zones activity which is more like play based learning. The workshops plug the gaps in the knowledge. Each students has to complete one artefact to show they have learned it. For problem solving teachers work with groups of 18, on 2 problems a week. The students have a specific process to work through.
Each child has their own digital copy of the progressions that are highlighted once they have proven that they have learned it. From these progressions the teachers can target the learning and address the gaps.
So what does this mean for my teaching?
It took much time to set up this school's systems. They now have a cohesive mode of teaching and learning that meets students' needs, motivates students and raises ability.
Of course this new system needs to be from the top down in a school setting such as ours. School management needs to engage with the process and not see it as a quick fix strategy. It requires commitment over time.
I could...
- Trial the workshop idea on my class site and have a variety of reading books for the book choice. This would work more for my readers who are achieving at a good standard
- For my underachievers daily guided reading and mileage is worth continuing and their workshops would be based around their need for decoding and alphabet skills. Their voice needs to be factored in to the planning
- Process writing would continue along with choices for some different genre or types of grammar. Nothing is new there.
- Problem solving options help create mixed ability groupings and sound better when students mix themselves for maths through their choices (rather than the predetermined mixed groupings that I have heard other educators talk about)
- Workshops that plug the gaps in student knowledge also sound worth doing.
There is only one teacher in my class of 26, so this limits the flexible nature of groupings and options. However, it would be good to include a few of these ideas in the planning as part of my own inquiry.
