Differentiated Coaching for Educators

I recently spent several days in the heart of Washington DC. As I walked to and from the NCTM conference, to restaurants and museums, I watched the seconds tick down on the walk/don't walk clocks at each street corner. The time allotted for pedestrians to cross ranged from 12 seconds at one corner to 60 seconds at another.

I pondered the wide range of times. They weren't related to the width of the street or the average number of people standing there (some corners, especially around Chinatown, were definitely busier than others). Instead, the signals were timed to accommodate the vehicle traffic whizzing through the green lights that corresponded with the walk signals. (more…)

During my differentiation workshops, I often show films of students completing mathematical tasks. In my favorite clip, a little boy starts over three times before successfully making a shape that is 1/4 red and 3/4 yellow. When asked, in every workshop about 80 percent of the participants admit, "I would have stopped him after his second mistake to help him, assuming he couldn't do it on his own. And stopping him would actually have stopped his learning..." (more…)