Pacing Guides

 

After working for a district that insists on people following the textbook pacing guide for two years, I’ve decided that is a bunch of crud.  In all honesty, the pacing of the guide is such that students rush through the book without really learning that much.  In addition, there is no time to differentiate, scaffold, or help students who have learning disabilities.  Furthermore, most of the differentiation and scaffolding provided by the textbook comes in the form of the problems assigned at the end of the section.

The program comes with all the examples set to show students how to do the examples in the book step by step.  It allows students to work on assigned problems from the book online so all they do is put in the answers without a place to show work.  All the quizzes and tests are done and ready to give out.  Unfortunately, the digital presentation doesn’t always allow the teacher to show every single step in detail.  

I get frustrated because I have students who have gaps in their knowledge when they arrive in high school and I don’t have time to help them fill in the gaps.  The pacing guide is not set up to add in activities such as “search and rescue” where they get to move around the room while working through a set of problems. 

I don’t have time to try all the great ideas I read about because the district wants us to follow the guide.  The guide only allows a maximum of two days for any one topic which is not enough for students to really learn and the pacing is set to get through the whole book rather than meeting the needs of the student.  Yes, I’ve gotten in a bit of trouble for not “following” the pacing guide.

The middle school has an accelerated math class filled with students who can move faster while I have the students who have special needs, who have gaps in their fundamental knowledge, or are absent a lot.  I can’t move as fast as the other class yet I’ve heard about it.  I will admit, I try to choose a pace that works for my students so I’m always one to two chapters behind the other class but I don’t care.  

The reality is that most students cannot move at the pace laid out by the guide.  In fact, if we move too fast, students do not learn and retain the material so at a point in the future, they may get frustrated due to not being able to do the math.  I understand why the textbooks offer a pacing guide but I don’t understand districts that think the pacing guide is god rather than a suggestion. 

I prefer to go through the book at a pace that meets the needs of my students while allowing them to learn.  I prefer having time to work in activities to help retain and use the material at a future date.  I want to be able to move faster when I can but slow down when needed.  I want to put student learning first rather than the pacing guide because student learning is more important.  Let me know what you think, I’d love to hear.  Have a great day.