These Are The Groupings

THOUGHT

Students learn concepts best by attempting to find solutions by themselves.

REFLECTION #1

This is not to say the teacher does not have any part in student learning, but when students are given some basic instructions, it can be best to let them experiment with finding a solution on their own. For example, when using manipulatives, students can be given the freedom to work with the blocks and using them to find the solutions to equations. When working on their own, they are given the opportunity to develop their own concepts, and ways of working with objects that they might understand better than the a method that the teacher might further explain to them.

REFLECTION #2

"Work on their own", this does not necessarily mean individually. It can simply mean without the lead of a teacher, so that the lesson becomes more student-directed. There is a reason that more and more teachers are moving away from the typical classroom setup of students sitting in rows, toward seating students in groups with their classmates. This arrangement suggests the growing importance, and support, of peer-to-peer learning. When sitting in groups, the teacher can encourage the students to teach concepts to their peers, the way that they understand them. Some students may be more open to the suggestions of their peers as well, and the teacher can facilitate this kind of learning by discussing the different methods that the students have come up with as a class.