Is it me or the group?

As the students progress in groups I have come to notice that some groups progress through the lessons quicker than others. A teacher must continuously reflect and ask themselves the question when a group is not progressing quickly enough- Is it me or the group?

Below are some suggestions for either answer:

Group
-Not listening/Playing around/etc.
Try to ask yourself if you have set up routines and procedures for the classroom.  Entering the classroom, collecting supplies, exiting the classroom. Saying them at the beginning of the school year does not count, they need to be reminded. Have you taught them explicitly again and again. Ideally mastery at 80%.
-Have you gone over the STAR rules with your students. Are they visible and reviewed every day?
-Tardiness
is there a procedure in place to help address this issue(passes, buddy system, etc)

Me
-Do you have set procedures in place? (see group list)
-What factors are making you slow down/interruptions?( phone calls, distractors, etc)
-What can I do to control these distractors?


Regardless of the answer remember that we have a short amount of time to service these students and every minute counts in helping to close that gap. It is important to be reflective and try to determine any factors that may slow the group down so that they can be addressed and resolved.