Reply to VA math changes - ways to speak out

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

From the first link:
“ A major part of the equitable results attained at Railside was the serious way in which teachers expected
students to be responsible for each other’s learning. Many schools employ group work which, by its nature, brings with it an element of interdependence, but Railside teachers went beyond this to ensure that students took their responsibility to each other very seriously. One way in which teachers nurtured a feeling of responsibility was through the assessment system. For example, teachers occasionally graded the work of a group by rating the quality of the conversations groups had. In addition, the teachers occasionally gave group tests, which took several formats.[b] In one version, students worked through a test together, but the teachers graded only one of the individual papers and that grade stood as the grade for all the students in the group. A third way in which responsibility was encouraged was through the practice of asking one student in a group to answer a follow-up question after a group had worked on something. If the student could not answer the question, the teacher would leave the group to further discussion before returning to ask the same student again. In the intervening time, it was the group’s responsibility to help the student learn the mathematics they needed to answer the question.”[/b]

Uh yeah this notion that the quick kids will effectively become teacher assistants once they learn the material is exactly what many of us are mad about!!![/quote]

The best way to master content is to be able to teach to someone else. 
[/quote]
This is all assuming that the struggling kids are actually trying and want to learn.  Many don't, and from my experience, will actively sabotage the efforts of the other group members.

Additionally, even if the students want to learn, why are they assuming that fellow students could convey the materials in any way that would help struggling kids?  The teachers have learned the full pedagogy behind math instruction.  Likewise, many schools have math resource teachers who are trained in helping struggling students.  The classroom teachers and math resource teachers have been unable to get these struggling students up to grade level for years, so why on earth would anyone assume that bright kids in the same classroom would have better results?[/quote]

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