Teachers get hands-on instructing algebra to at risk middle school students
By Tom Chorneau
Monday, January 28, 2013
There was a time when Mike Moser’s math classes at Park Middle School in Antioch would probably have looked a lot like every other in America.
Students sitting in straight rows; eyes up front. No talking to neighbors and, certainly, everyone does their own work. Moser, too, would have led the room in a conventional manner, with his back mostly to the kids, scribbling on the board while explaining the problem that some students would understand and other might not.Things are different today.
The students huddle in groups of two’s and three’s, quietly comparing notes; struggling; challenging; collaborating.
Moser’ role has also been recast. No longer standing static at the front of the room, he roams about. Engaging some, pushing others; providing hints with a nod or a shrug. The burden is clearly on the kids.
There’s unfamiliar stuff too. Construction paper, sometimes folded neatly into cubes that resemble pieces in a Tetris
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