A Self-Paced Classroom Is Transformative

Six years ago, Adrianne Rose had six students in her special ed math class at Grand Haven High School in Michigan. Last year, she had three times that many -- all with varying disabilities.
It all added up to a much more demanding classroom environment, and led Rose and teaching partner Keegan Ferris to develop a self-paced curriculum for their Algebra 2 classroom.

In this ISTE19 session, Rose explains how transformative the move has been. It has decreased stress levels while increasing the students’ independence, time management and organization.
Rose’s self-paced classroom requires students to take ownership of their learning. The weekly agenda consists of three video or live lessons, one station review activity day and one assessment day.

Students can choose video instruction or live instruction. They are asked to complete a Google Form reflection, where they rate their understanding of the material.

All three videos are posted on Monday, and students can choose to work on one at a time or all three in one day. On Thursdays, the week’s assignments are due, and students participate in an all-class activity. On Friday, everyone does an assessment.

Despite just three lessons a week, Rose gets through the curriculum by concentrating on the essential standards for students’ future concept building.

How does she hold students accountable? At the beginning of the semester, the students agree to a grade expectation. Students with a 70% or higher get the privilege of self-pacing, which provides a strong incentive for students.