DL Spotlight: Mr. Phelps Cuts Failure Rate in Half with Workstations
Jack Phelps is a second-year teacher at Haltom High School. Mr. Phelps has implemented small group pull-out and workstations in his freshmen World Geography class. We had a chance to sit down with Mr. Phelps and ask him a few questions about his decision to change from lecture style delivery to a student-centered model.
Question: What was your motivating factor for moving to workstations?
Mr. Phelps: I wanted to be able to work more with my ELL students and the students that are struggling. Workstations allow me to work with students in a small group setting and for one-on-one instruction.
Question: What were the results of shifting your instructional strategies?
Mr. Phelps: My failure rate was slashed in half, from 12% in the third six weeks to 6% this six weeks. I have noticed that the students who were struggling and would become frustrated are now: receiving one-on-one time, have improved their grades, and are more engaged. The students have told me they like that I am now more available to help them one-on-one.
Question: I see you currently have five extra Chromebooks. What have you been able to accomplish with 10 Chromebooks compared to five Chromebooks?
Mr. Phelps: I can create another station with the extra technology. I chose to use LearnSmart to increase student ability to analyze and annotate text, which aligns our district and campus literacy strategies. At the same time, I'm able to reinforce TEKS by having students use Google Maps 360-degree street view to view biomes and other places we are covering.
Question: What improvements or strategies do you plan to implement this year?
Mr. Phelps: After speaking with Mike Wilson I would like to implement more pillars of the blended learning model. I would also like to find more digital resources that will deepen student understanding of countries and vocabulary.
Question: What was your motivating factor for moving to workstations?
Mr. Phelps: I wanted to be able to work more with my ELL students and the students that are struggling. Workstations allow me to work with students in a small group setting and for one-on-one instruction.
Question: What were the results of shifting your instructional strategies?
Mr. Phelps: My failure rate was slashed in half, from 12% in the third six weeks to 6% this six weeks. I have noticed that the students who were struggling and would become frustrated are now: receiving one-on-one time, have improved their grades, and are more engaged. The students have told me they like that I am now more available to help them one-on-one.
Question: I see you currently have five extra Chromebooks. What have you been able to accomplish with 10 Chromebooks compared to five Chromebooks?
Mr. Phelps: I can create another station with the extra technology. I chose to use LearnSmart to increase student ability to analyze and annotate text, which aligns our district and campus literacy strategies. At the same time, I'm able to reinforce TEKS by having students use Google Maps 360-degree street view to view biomes and other places we are covering.
Question: What improvements or strategies do you plan to implement this year?
Mr. Phelps: After speaking with Mike Wilson I would like to implement more pillars of the blended learning model. I would also like to find more digital resources that will deepen student understanding of countries and vocabulary.
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