Small group instruction may be the key to improving math learning and abilities for many students. Small group allows for a higher teacher to student ratio and fosters learning new concepts more quickly. In large classrooms there are oftentimes pockets of children who fall through the cracks and don’t learn as effectively as their peers.
Two teachers are using their grant to prove small groups benefit students.
Two Maize teachers are hoping to use a $10,000 grant they have received to implement a small group strategy at Pray-Woodman school. They hope that they can inspire other teachers at their school to be on board with the new strategy that will help reach all students and give them increased chances at effective learning.
You can’t pull five or six students aside for a math lesson while 20 others just fend for themselves. It takes creativity, planning and a willingness to experiment with activities students can do on their own.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Key takeaways
- For most children, small-group instruction, particularly in mathematics, is more effective than traditional whole-class approaches.
- A grant from a Virginia-based non-profit organization will allow more small-group instruction and personal intervention in mathematics instruction at the Pray-Woodman Elementary School.
- Most of the grant will be used to pay for substitute teachers to monitor classrooms while the primary teachers interact with the small mathematics groups.
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