First Day of Field

Today was my first day of my field experience. It was wonderful. I was able to get to know the students and how the classroom is run. I was happy to find that math is very differentiated. There are three third grade teachers at the school and they differentiate math by having students go to a different class based upon their level. The students that are at the highest level of math go to one class, and the rest of the students who are middle and lower level stay together, but are divided between the two other teachers. The middle and lower level students don't hold the upper level students back and are able to get the help they need with students at their own level. I talked to my teacher about it and she said that it is their first year trying it, but that it is very successful. At first they tried doing three different levels but found that the lowest level students needed a bit of support from students just above them because they didn't know the types of questions to ask or even where to start with certain problems. She said they have found much success with having the two groups together.