What do you do when students don't get it?

What do you do when students don't get it?  That was the question I was tasked with my first year of teaching in a PLC school district. Sometimes, that question was related to in-class informal assessments. However, most of the time, that question referred to when students did not master objectives on an assessment. Do you continue on as a teacher and keep that failing grade OR, do you make those select students master those objectives before moving forward?

In a traditional classroom, that is a tough battle as most classrooms have at least 30 students (in urban high schools) and classroom management is based on the idea that all students work at the same pace. There is not enough personnel and the existing structure does not always support differentiated instruction. So, what do you do?

This was the question I asked my future teachers last night. And, most did not have an answer.

So, I changed up the question - what technology exists that can help us help students who "don't get it"? And, does technology have to consist of computers or can it be something as simple as having whiteboard paint on walls and rolling chairs? What does a modern class look like?

Can we change what we deem as mastery in the class?

Questions to ponder...