What are some innovative teaching strategies to support learning in the classroom?

I’m constantly looking for new ideas, especially for math. On this day, I saw a strategy that made my teacher heart soar!

I was presenting a two-day co-teaching program for an amazing group of teachers in Jonesborough, Tennessee. When I arrived at the high school, I was shown into Mrs. Elliott’s classroom and I was stunned at what I saw.

Ditch the Paper and Eraser Damage

Instead of student desks, the room was full of tables and chairs. Okay, that may not sound so innovative. However, each table was covered with a dry-erase board. Every table, also, had a basket with markers, sticky notes, and a bit of eraser. There was even a zipper pouch on each side of the table for the student’s cell phone! Mrs. Elliott was kind enough to take a few minutes to explain how she puts her tables together and uses this teaching strategy in her classroom.

“I get a 4×8 sheet of shower board from Lowes, and it’s quartered… they know me now so they know I need it cut and they cut it for me, for free. Then I velcro it to the table at the four corners. Usually it lasts about a year. I change them out about once a year. The little baskets are Dollar Tree and they are velcroed too. What I use them for is when students are working on a problem, and I can use the board to help them work out the problem.”

Innovative Teaching Strategy for Math, English, Social Studies, Science, and More

This teaching strategy can work in any math class, or any other class where it might benefit students to have an easy, clear way to practice problems or jot down notes that they may need in the moment.

A big thank you to Mrs. Elliot for sharing her room with us for two days and for taking the time to share her ingenuity!

What cool strategies do you implement in your classroom to make it easier for you to help students, and for them to help themselves? Tell us about your great ideas in the comments below.

Bring Susan to your campus!

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Dear Susan,

I will be starting as a temporary one-to-one teaching assistant with a 7th grader on the spectrum. I’d love any links to articles that can help me to help him grasp algebra. – Tracy Vorheis

Dear Tracy,

I like that enthusiasm! I have compiled a number of resources that can help you to teach him algebra.

Children on the autism spectrum are visual, meaning they learn from visual cues that they can relate concepts to. So, any math strategies that can make algebra more visual will help him.

These resources may also work for parents of children on the spectrum who are helping their kids with homework.

Resources:

National Library of Virtual Manipulatives – A treasure trove of online visual manipulatives for mathematics, such as algebra tiles, pattern blocks and triominoes. Make sure the student is using a web browser that has Java activated so that the manipulatives load correctly.

Using Virtual Manipulatives to Teach Mathematics – a research brief by the Center for Technology Implementation.

Teaching Math with Meaning – A PDF by Autism Ontario that offers ideas and starting points for teaching math to children on the spectrum.

From Concrete to Representation to Abstract: Math Instruction for Students with Autism – A presentation by Willow Hozella, Allen Muir, and Jared Campbell at the 2014 National Autism Conference.

Teaching Problem Solving to Increase Academic, Communication, and Social Skills – A presentation by Judah B. Axe at the 2017 National Autism Conference.

17 Tips for Teaching High Functioning Students with Autism from the Georgia Department of Education.

Hope these help, and thank you for making a difference!

Susan

The post Dear Susan: Visual Math Strategies to Help Kids appeared first on Susan Fitzell.