Tammy Crago, a teacher at Bethany Elementary School, discusses her simplistic approach to providing learning paths for her students. Learn more about her tips and techniques for creating a growth-focused classroom and giving students opportunities to become more independent learners.
Q: Pathways can feel like a daunting thing for teachers. Tell us how you got started with pathways in your classroom.
A: I think it was about five years ago when Clover School District started their personalized learning initiative. At that time, I had the opportunity to visit some schools that were outside of our district as well as schools that were in our district. I also had the opportunity to visit other teachers in my building and outside of my building who had already started personalizing learning and using pathways. I was very happy to see that the pathways they were using and the things they were doing in their classrooms weren't all that different from what we were already doing. So, that was exciting. I knew I didn't have to reinvent the wheel; I just needed to modify that wheel. Modifying that wheel made things a lot better for me and for my students.
Q: We know that there are a lot of different ways that you can create a pathway. You saw a lot of things on your visits that were bits and pieces of what you were doing. So what was your process in determining how you would actually start with pathways?
A: I had already been doing pathways but I wasn’t calling them pathways at the time. So I continued to pre-assess or pretest my students to see what they knew and what they did not know, where they needed to go and where they needed to grow. I continued to develop, share, and borrow ideas that helped my students get where they needed to be academically. I was making sure those activities that they completed in the pathways would still be fun and engaging for them but simple enough for me to follow along and ensure they were growing where they needed to go. After I implemented those activities and put them together, I always post-tested the students to make sure that growth was achieved at the end.
Q: You teach all subjects. Are you implementing pathways in all of your subjects and, if not, which subject did you start with pathways?
A: That's a great question because I think it’s important for everyone to start where they feel comfortable. When I started pathways, I was only teaching math and science. Now I'm teaching all subjects. I started with math because math is my passion. I knew I already had a lot of activities that I could use as pathways for my students and pre-tests that I could pull from to see where they were and where they needed to go. So I think everyone should start with something that they feel passionate about, comfortable with, and a subject that's exciting for them as well as for the students.
Q: How did you make sure that the pathways were just right for each of your students?
A: When I start a new skill, standard, or unit, I review the pre-tests to see where students need to grow. Then I go to my Google Drive and I look at things that other teachers have shared with me. I look at how those will match up with my students and their needs. It’s also really important to make sure you have different pathways that will engage all of the students. I try to have some paper and pencil pathways, as well as some website pathways. Students might do lessons on iknowit.com or quizziz.com, both which check their work right away, let them know what they've gotten right, and how they can learn from their mistakes. I also try to have some activities for them that are engaging things that they can design and create to help them to grow. So the different students or different styles of learning will all have something to choose from that is something that they enjoy doing. They're still learning while they're doing that activity that they enjoy.
After they've completed their pretest and before they start their pathways, I've had a short conference with them. Now that conference is not something that's time-consuming for either of us. It happens while I'm checking their morning work, or when I'm working with them in small groups. We will just take a minute to look at where they struggled and talk about their goals for where they want to go after we have our pathways. I will help them understand where they need to start, but they get to pick and choose where they start and where they finish. Then when they're finished, they'll take a post-test. I've noticed since I started doing pathways that the growth is amazing. So they're working on their own and they're becoming independent learners. I’m walking around, monitoring them, and helping them, so if they need me, I'm still there to give them that support if they need it.
We know that there are still going to be those students who need you to start really slowly at the beginning of the year with this idea and so I don't give them as much choice right away as they would have now at the end of the year. There are still going to be students who might need me to say, “Okay, you're going to start and you're going to do pathways one, four, six and seven first and then you can choose what other pathways you complete.” So it really depends on the student.
Q: How do you go about keeping it very simple in terms of the design and also how you're implementing it with students?
A: When I was visiting other teachers I saw all these fancy choice boards and these wall standards and work. I think it's important that you design your pathways so that they fit you and they fit your students as well. I’m a simple girl, so once I have my pathways designed, then I just list those pathways on the whiteboard. For example, I might write:
1. iknowit.com. Complete lessons (back carpet)
So they know that if they're doing pathway number one, they're going to complete lessons on iknowit.com and they're going to do that pathway on the back carpet. I usually have between six and ten pathways. I let the students know that there's never to be any more than two to four people at a pathway, depending on what that pathway is. After I have the pathways on the board, the students take a picture of the board with their iPad so they have a screenshot. Then as they complete the pathways, they just check off the ones they have completed. If a student needs a little more guidance, I might say, “I would like you to start and do pathways two, four, and six first. They would circle those numbers and they know that's where they have to go first. If we stop our pathways at the end of the class, they draw a star on the pathway they were still working on, so when we start again on our pathways the next day, they know exactly where they started and exactly where they stopped.
Want to learn more?
Listen to Tammy discuss more about her use of pathways by listening to her conversation with us in this podcast episode: 43 - Keeping It Simple: A Different Take on Learning Pathways.
