One-on-one instruction: I rely heavily on my progress tracker to plan out who I want to meet with each day. I always start by checking in with students who need to revise a lesson (they have an “R” on the tracker), then I select three or four students I want to check in with for other reasons besides revision -students who are behind, or who are way ahead, or for whom any other progress-based flag grabs my attention. 

I’ll even use the tracker as a reminder I’d like to check in with students next class. If a student asks for more help than I can offer on a particular day, I just put an “R” by their name on the tracker to ensure I remember to meet with them. I also find this de-stigmatizes the “R” on the tracker and makes it less personal and more objective. It’s just a note that I plan to check in with you rather than a marker of having done something wrong!

Small group instruction: Again, I lean on my tracker. If I see that multiple students are all stuck on the same lesson, I’ll pull them over to my desk in a small group and do a reteach or answer specific questions.

One of the biggest benefits of the MCP model (made visible by the tracker) is that breaking up the steps in order to monitor students’ progress through them means that students who are working on the same lesson really are struggling with the exact same concept or skill, and I have a very clear picture of who is working on what. This makes grouping them together very simple - the tracker really is the central hub of all my instructional decisions on a daily basis.

Whole group instruction: I open most classes with a very brief (2-4 minute) overview of the on-pace lesson, any noteworthy aspects of that lesson, any announcements, etc. I find that the routine of sitting down, coming together as a group, and settling into "class mode" is what benefits my students, not any of the actual announcements themselves. 

Sometimes I’ll do other things like show a calendar or play a Kahoot. All I really want is an opportunity to release the kids from something into self-paced work time so they know when it’s starting, rather than having them trickle into class without direction. 

I also find that having this time as part of the routine is especially helpful when I need to do a full-group reteach of a difficult concept. For instance, if a majority of students who submit a particular lesson all need to revise something, it’s usually a hint to me that my instruction may have been off, and I’ll use the full-group opener to actively teach the concept to the whole group, lecture-style. I find these usually go quite well because it’s a concept that a majority of students are already struggling with, so they’re interested and pay attention because I’m there to address their misconceptions. 

But even if we’re not doing a re-teach, I like to bring them together and release them just to set the tone for the rest of the class period. 

My biggest tip is already built into the model! Really utilize and make the absolute most of your progress tracker. 

In order to do that, I think it’s best to split up and chunk your lessons into the smallest units you can, within reason. It is possible to go overboard, but for instance, I have an entire mastery check dedicated to creating a new document and writing your name in it; likewise, for my actual content-based lessons, I keep them focused on a single skill or concept, and I prefer to have two shorter lessons than one longer lesson with two elements. 

So chunk those lessons down so each one is a singular skill or concept, then use that tracker to monitor exactly what each student is doing every day. It helps you hold them accountable, keep tabs on who needs individual support, group them together, and even get a sense of whether your planning and pacing are too difficult or too easy for your class. It shines a light on everything that happens in your class, and while, at first, that light may reveal some concerns, it also allows you to address them and thereby improve your instruction.