Reply To: Lesson 4 – 7: How Long Should A Cycle Typically Take? – Discussion

[CanDo Collins]

Hi Tonya,

This is precisely the issue that many of the teachers in my district are experiencing. Within my district, there are common summative assessments, which causes some teachers to think that they all need to be on the same page on the same day.

When I was in the classroom, I was able to incorporate spiraling through my bell ringers.  Additionally, I knew the curriculum well, because I had been teaching 8th-grade math for many years. This allowed me to preview and add future content as I thought it fit in.

In my current role as a teacher leader, I try to get my teachers to do spiraling.  However, I have found that they are unsure of how to incorporate spiraling into the curriculum.  They are stressed to make sure they cover each unit comprehensively and are unsure how to find the time to deviate.  

I believe that the teachers view the math in a more narrow scope because the administration scrutinizes student achievement on the individual unit assessments.  However, I think it is so important to realize that we are really instructing students for a lifetime rather than a unit.  I have learned through my own practice that spiraling is extremely beneficial to student deep acquisition of the skills.  

I’m sitting here trying to think of how I can support teachers as they start implementing spiraling into their teaching practice.