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Oct
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The buddy system is working well in my math class.
Filed Under Behaviour Management, Special Education, motivating students, positive climate, underachieving students
I love using the buddy system in my math classes because it’s such an efficient way to help kids get answers to any questions they have about the day’s lesson and makes monitoring their progress much easier. The students like the math buddy system because it enables them to meet needs in the classroom more easily.
At the beginning of the semester, I asked my students in my math classes to pair up with another student. I call these pairs math buddies. Sometimes three kids end up working together, but that’s OK too. Sometimes I “help” form the buddy groupings. Usually it all works out. As I’m typing this, it strikes me that the term math buddy might be a bit old fashioned. I guess it is in a way. I first heard about math buddies about 23 years ago. If anyone knows about a more up to date term for math buddies, I’d love to hear it.
Once the students form into buddies, I tell them that they are to work together helping each other by answering any questions they may have. I will only answer group questions, that is questions that their buddies can’t answer. If they have a question about anything they need to ask their math buddies first and if their math buddies don’t know the answer then it’s a group question and they can ask me. This cuts down on lots of questions like what page is the work on or what’s today’s date. I do have this information on the board, but it seems that some kids prefer to have someone tell them this informationn instead of reading it. I think that’s a huge waste of my time and it drive me crazy.
The buddy system with it’s group questions helps me be more effective. It seems to cut the class size in half. Without the buddy system I might have 22 kids in my class, 22 individual units if you will. That works out to a little over three minutes of time for each student. With the buddy system, I have only 11 units. That gives me twice a much time to help each pair of students and not all the pairs need help all the time. I think it’s a wonderful way to use the resources I have available- the student themselves. Since I have more time because the students are helping one another, I can give more in depth help to those students who need it or to those students who quietly sit there and do little.
My students like working together as buddies. There’s a nice vibe in the air while they work away on the day’s assignment. There’s joy and laughter in the class, and the work gets done. I can’t ask for more than that. After I’ve taught the lesson, someone always asks do we get into our math buddies now. I’ve yet to hear a groan. It’s rewarding to look down and see my “at-risk” students working so well and enjoying school, if only for a few moments.
I like the math buddy system because it frees me up to help those kid who might not normally get the help they need. You know those students who sit quietly and hope you don’t notice that they aren’t working. Sometimes they don’t want to ask the teacher for help or sometimes they lack motivation. I can go around to each team and monitor students progress and give them feedback quite easily. If a student it just sitting there, I’m more likely to notice and find out what the problem is. Students can’t “disappear” so easily.
All in all, I love the math buddy system. I’d say it’s right up there with the class blog for motivating my students. I think the math buddy system helps meet the needs of my students in many other ways, not just the obvious one of helping get the work done. The buddy system allows for completion between the buddies. Some students like that. Other students like to help. They certainly can do that. Some students like to work in groups. They can certainly do that. Even those students who like to work alone don’t seem to mind working with just one student. Given all this about the math buddy system, what’s not to love.
Oh yes, it helps keep me sane. I’m not running around like crazy trying to meet the needs of my students and wondering if I’ve missed helping someone.
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