Guided Math Book Study: Chapter One

After reading the first chapter of Guided Math:  A Framework for Mathematics Instruction by Laney Sammons, I could immediately see a parallel between my own classroom and some of the ideas in the book.  As teachers, a huge component of being successful is our ability to look at our own teaching and identify what is effective, and often times, what isn’t.  Knowing that something simply wasn’t working has lead to big changes in my teaching over the years.  While reading Chapter One, I immediately began visualizing the ways I was successfully, and not so successfully, using the instructional components of Guided Math in my own classroom. 

Guided Math is a framework for math instruction that includes the following components:

-       A Classroom Environment of Numeracy

-       Morning Math Warm-ups

-       Whole-class Instruction

-       Guided Math Instruction with Small Groups

-       Math Workshop

-       Individual Conferences

-       Ongoing Systems of Assessment

The components of Guided Math work in unison to provide students with a variety of instructional interactions with their peers and the teacher, as well as a chance to be engaged in individual discovery.   While teacher-centered learning is a component, it is only one component of the entire process.  I think the author described Guided Math best when she said it “offers all students opportunities to develop their mathematical skills at increasingly challenging levels of difficulty with the ultimate goal of helping them gain the ability to function independently in the world of mathematics” (Simmons, 2010, p. 17). 

This year, in an effort to move my mathematics classroom from teacher-centered, I began using a flipped mathematics classroom.  During previous years, I always knew that I needed to provide my students with more hands-on instruction but struggled to find the time in a 50-minute class period. The main advantage of the flipped classroom was the flexibility it provided me in using those precious classroom minutes.  Since students were watching their lessons at home and competing OYO (On Your Own) problems, I could easily identify which students were struggling with a particular skill.  It also freed up time for many of the components of instruction that were discussed in Chapter 1, especially small group and individual instruction.

Small group and individual instruction takes up the bulk of my instructional time.   If you walk into my classroom during a mathematics class, you will likely see students working in groups completing an activity or working on an assignment, while I am working with a small group or individual.  I have found that the use of small group and individual instruction allows me to provide the extra support that my struggling learners need, while allowing my students who were ready for the next level to work independently on activities or assignments.  For me, the most rewarding part of working individually with students is the exact moment when I see a student “get it.”  Both the student, and myself, leave the interaction knowing that we really accomplished something. 

Chapter One of Guided Math also helped me identify areas of my math instruction that need some work.  Hey, no one’s perfect! ;)  Fortunately, I still have nine chapters left from which to learn, reflect, and grow!

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