4. Use the Comparison Table Routinely

I have developed a Concept Comparison Routine to be used for the Sets of Numbers which might help students to make connections between the sets of the Real Number System since they have a hard time determining to which set a number falls.  This can be abstract for students.  Instead of students memorizing definitions, maybe they can compare the sets and make connections between them to make sense out of them.

I have developed a Concept Comparison Routine to be used for the Sets of Numbers which might help students to make connections between the sets of the Real Number System since they have a hard time determining to which set a number falls.  This can be abstract for students.  Instead of students memorizing definitions, maybe they can compare the sets and make connections between them to make sense out of them.

I do not have the opportunity to work with students on a regular basis but I could use this in other contexts and in  professional development sessions that I deliver. For example, I could use the Comparison Table that I created for the purposes of fulfilling the requirements of this badge to compare two student interventions, Check & Connect and RENEW with teams who are in the process of deciding which intervention would serve their students more effectively.  The other Table that I created for CSI and A-TSI schools identified in school improvement will be very useful when describing the differences to interested stakeholders.

After an initial lesson on the Concept Comparison routine, I realized that the students in my group were getting distracted by the higher-level vocabulary I was using to teach the routine.  This was interfering with their understanding of the two concepts, as well as their overall level of engagement during co-construction of the table. I decided to modify the lesson to verbal interactions and providing concrete examples.  Before co-constructing a table again on the same concepts, I changed my draft to simplify the information they needed to write and be able to explain. I also used examples as a way to initiate the second lesson to provide a hook.  This allowed the students to make connections to their prior learning and stay more engaged and curious about the information taught.  We were able to expand on the two concepts by not only having the students recognize and explain the similarities and differences, but also change one example of a metaphor to a simile.  It was clear that the students had a better understanding after using the routine a second time.

Since I do not have the opportunity to work with students, I could use this in other contexts and trainings for professional development. I could certainly use this for staff and trainings when comparing two concepts and in the samples I used for the badge requirements, I incorporated topics of the EWS which we are using in several initiatives as well as Check In Check Out and Check & Connect which are also prominent interventions that are used in several initiatives throughout the Commonwealth.