Differentiation with Station Rotation

In the past few weeks, we've seen some awesome station rotation lessons at GMS and GHS.

In one GMS special educator's classroom, students were able to experience a variety of tasks and work in a variety of ways on math problems. At one station, students played a competitive game with dice and a game board. At another station, students completed individualized practice on the computer. And at another station, students worked collaboratively. The teacher was able to casually circulate, providing support and feedback to individuals, as needed.

One GHS social studies teacher used the station rotation to break apart and scaffold a complex document-based response activity. Instead of giving students a huge packet of resources, students rotated to different pieces of evidence around the room and used guiding questions to support their comprehension and analysis of these documents. The teacher was able to target support to each group based on their document, and an early finisher station allowed some students to move ahead at their own pace. By tackling the task piece by piece and in collaboration with peers, the students were more engaged with the topic and more eager to write a response.

A GHS special educator used station rotation to have the opportunity to pull students in small groups for targeted instruction according to a timed rotation, with other students working on independent tasks at other stations. The rotations allowed her to provide differentiated content and processes for students based on their needs and abilities. The teacher was able to provide real-time, high-quality feedback to students as they worked, allowing them to be partners in the learning process and ensure that their practice was perfect.

Perhaps most interestingly, the teachers shared that not only were they more relaxed in the pace of the station rotation, but the students happier and more on task. Several of them used technology, like video or slides tutorials, to free themselves from needing to explain things to the class, and others used ready-made online practice to support personalization of practice.

These teachers showcased how station rotation can be used for a myriad of tasks and in support of differentiation. There are so many ways to use station rotation to make life better for teachers and students. If you want more ideas or answers to frequently asked questions, check out this blog post from Catlin Tucker or talk to a member of TLI.