Guided Math

A few days ago, I heard about guided math, I didn't know what it was, so I have decided to research it a little bit.

It is very important to research things that you do not know because you can learn something that you had never known you needed to know before.

Guided math is similar to guided reading.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with either (I, too, was in that category), the teacher sets up a bunch of stations that teach the same topic.  An example of this is the week on fractions.  Each station would enforce the idea of fractions.  For example, one station could have a bunch of cut-out pizzas, another could have jelly beans that need to be divided into four equal parts.

The idea is to help students become independent learners for that particular topic.  In the beginning and the end of the week is a whole-group lesson teaching about the idea that will be reinforced through the stations.

I can see a big upside to teaching math in this way, because I am weird and a big advocate for project-based learning, this is, I feel, the closest thing to project-based learning that our public schools can get to.  Independence in learning is imperative to the skill of lifelong learning.

And as I begin this new stage of life as a special education teacher, I remember my roots and beliefs, and start with a fresh start and a new outlook on teaching and education.