Mathematics Teacher / Department Chair
ALEKS Coordinator / RtI Mathematics Coordinator
Mathematics Textbook Reviewer
Badger High School in Lake Geneva, WI
Creating a Learning Environment for All Students
Badger High School has created a learning environment for all students through providing students the opportunity to
learn at a varying pace, utilizing common curriculum, standard based grading, multiple opportunities to
demonstrate mastery, and remediated/accelerated online opportunities.
1) Curriculum Adoption / Textbook Design
2)Teacher Professional Development
3)Software
4)Standard Based Grading
5)Test Design
6)Allow Time to Learn
7) Intervention Plan
8)Program Alignment creating Opportunities
Keys to a Learning Environment
Curriculum Adoption
Integrated Model of the CCSSM
For many years, studies have shown that American students score significantly lower than students worldwide in mathematics achievement, ranking 25th among 34 countries. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri have found high school students in the United States achieve higher scores on a standardized mathematics test if they study from a curriculum known as integrated mathematics.
Hurst, Nathan. (2013). Non-Traditional Mathematics Curriculum Results in Higher Standardized Test Scores, MU Study Finds. News Bureau. http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2013/0916-non-traditional-mathematics-curriculum-results-in-higher-standardized-test-scores-mu-study-finds/
Textbook Design Consumable Designed with Explicit and Systematic Teaching
“Explicit systematic instruction was found to improve the performance of students with learning disabilities in computation, solving word problems, and solving problems that require the application of mathematics to novel situations. Explicit systematic instruction typically entails teachers explaining and demonstrating specific strategies and allowing students many opportunities to ask and answer questions and to think aloud about the decisions they make while solving problems. It also entails careful sequencing of problems by the teacher or through instructional materials to highlight critical features.”
The North Carolina State Improvement Project; The impact of Research – Based Mathematics Instruction on Students with Disabilities; North Carolina Dept. of Public Instruction 2008-09 www.ncsip.org/pdfs/MathReport0809.pdf
Textbook Design - Scaffold
Textbook Design – Guided and Your Turn
Professional Development
Paul J. Riccomini Ph.D., M.S., B.A. Associate Professor Mathematics in Special Education Pennsylvania State University [email protected]
Software – Textbook
Some Features: Editable Assessments, RtI Skills, Professional Development Videos, Real World Videos, Math on the Spot Videos, Editable Practice Worksheets, Scaffolded Reteaching Sheets, Reading Strategies, Success for English Learners, Lesson Performance Tasks,…
Software – Holt McDougal
Example of what is available with the Teacher Resources
Software - ALEKS
Set Weekly Goals
Software - ALEKS
Immediate feedback
Widgets
Further Explanations
Alternate Explanations
Easily change to Spanish
Standard Based Grading How good is good enough?
What reference points do we use?
Traditional School approaches A 90-100% - Outstanding - Excellent B 80-89% - Above Average - Good C 70-79% - Average - Satisfactory D 60-69% - Below - Average Poor F >60% - Failing - Unacceptable
Standards-based approaches (May be described by levels or linked to %)
Advanced - Above standard* Proficient - Meets standard Developing - Below but approaching standard Beginning - Well below standard *Standard has to be defined, e.g. Ontario –“well prepared for next grade or course.”
O’Connor, K., How to Grade for Learning, Second Edition, Corwin, 2002, 71
Standard Based Grading Rubric
Advanced Mastery (AM) – Incorporate skill,
higher level thinking, precision, and supportive writing.
Mastery (M) – Minor mistakes in skill, process is in tact,
thinking, and writing in not fully supported.
Initial Mastery (IM) - Process is not in tact, thinking
unclear, and writing poorly supported.
No Mastery (NM) – Process does not start properly,
thinking in the wrong direction, and writing not supported.
Secondary purposes for grading include providing teachers with information for instructional planning, . . .
and providing teachers, administrators, parents, and students with information for . . placement of students. (5)
Brookhart, S., Grading, Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall, Columbus, OH, 2004
Name of the standard
How well is the class doing on this standard
Students need intervention
“the primary purpose for grading . . . should be to communicate with students and parents about their achievement
of learning goals.”
Brookhart, S., Grading, Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall, Columbus, OH, 2004
Assessments (90%)
Assignments (10%)
Standard Based Grading Now
“The use of columns in a grade book to represent standards, instead of assignments, tests, and activities, is a major shift in thinking . . . Under this system, when an assessment is designed, the teacher must think in terms of the standards it is intended to address.”
Marzano, R., and J. Kendall, A Comprehensive Guide to Developing Standards-Based Districts, Schools, and Classrooms, McREL, Aurora, CO, 1996, 150
AM – Advanced Mastery (100%) M – Mastery (80%)
IM – Initial Mastery (50%) NM – No Mastery (0%)
Model Standard Based Grading Modal Standard Based Grading is grading based on what the student has the most of. Since we grade on four different mastery levels, we would like our students earn mostly Advanced Mastery and Mastery scores and minimize Initial Mastery and No Mastery scores.
Explanation of Modal Standard Based Grading
1) We will calculate the tens place of the grade by adding up the number of AM and M grades divided by the total number of standards.
2) If a student’s initial percentage is below 60%, they will automatically start at 59%. We will then skip to step 4 and calculate the percentage point reductions.
3) If the student has more AM’s than M’s, the ones digit will be an 9. If the student has more M’s than AM’s, the ones digit will be a 3. If the student has the same amount of AM’s as M’s, the ones digit will be a 5.
4) Since we do not want students to have NM’s, we will deduct one percentage point for each NM.
Model Standard Based Grading Example
1) This student has 11 standards assessed for the quarter. A tally has been taken at each level of mastery and recorded above. There are eight AM’s and M’s out of a total of 11 standards.
So we will divide the sum of AM’s and M’s by the total number standards: 8/11 = 72.7%. We will use the tens digit to start the students grade at a 70%. 2) Since the student initial percentage is more than 60%, they will stay with the 70%
from step 1. 3) This student has more AM’s than M’s so the student’s one’s digit is 9, the grade is now 79%. 4) Since this student has 1 NM, there will be a 1% deduction for a 78%.
Modal SBG AM M IM NM Grade
Student #1 5 3 2 1 78%
Test Design Standards listed for brief objective
Tells students where to find an example
Test Design
One grade for all three problems
Standard Assessing
Time to Learn Grading Practices that Inhibit Learning 9. Grading first efforts
Learning is not a “one-shot” deal. When the products of learning are complex and sophisticated, students need lots of teaching, practice, and feedback before the product is evaluated
Figure Intro. 15 Adapted with permission from R.L Canady and P.R. Hotchkiss, “It’s a Good Score: Just a Bad Grade.” Phi Delta Kappa (September 1989) : 68-71
Time to Learn 90/90/90 Schools
Reeves, Douglas B, “Accountability in Action: a blueprint for learning organizations.” Advanced Learning Press, (2000): 189
Time to Learn Students are introduced to a topic and then tested the next 3 weeks
Lowest Level students cycle through standards every three weeks (three Tests) Conventional and Honors Level students cycle through standards every two
weeks (Two Tests) Conventional and Honors Level students will have their first opportunity as their
homework
Learn from Mistakes Written Responses in Performance Assessments
…teachers in the successful 90/90/90 Schools placed a very high emphasis on informative writing…The benefits of such an emphasis on writing appear to be two-fold. First, students process information in a much clearer way when they are required to write an answer. They “write to think” and, thus, gain the opportunity to clarify their own thought processes. Second, teachers have the opportunity to gain rich and complex diagnostic information about why students respond to an academic challenge the way that they do.
Reeves, Douglas B, “High Performance in High Poverty Schools: 90/90/90 and beyond.” Center for Performance Assessment (2003): 5
Learn from Mistakes Making Corrections on IM and NM Standards
Intervention Plan MPD Class
“Mathematics Proficiency Development”
Enrolled for Semester with exit policies
Class sizes are around 8 students
MPD and regular class concurrently…drop elective if needed
Blended with ALEKS
No Homework! In class activities
only.
Remediation activities and assistance with regular
class assignments
Guardians notified and sign contracts if they
accept or deny
Current Students need Teacher
Recommendation
Incoming Freshmen
Map Score <220
Intervention Plan Resources and Math Labs
• Each hour of the day, a math teacher is in their room as a resource. • Study hall teachers send students when students need help with math • Students do not need a pass ahead of time • Student signs into Resource Teachers classroom • Resource teacher sends out math resource attendance email so everyone knows
who attended resource • Before and after school math labs are available from Monday thru Thursday
First Semester Failures Three Options • Option #1: If students have a semester grade of 50%-59%, they will stay in class
and attend an after school math lab reworking the standards from first semester on ALEKS
• Option #2: If students have a semester grade <50%, they will be removed from class and be enrolled in an ALEKS class to rework first semester standards. We encourage summer school to do second semester topics to get students back in the classroom and on track.
• Option #3: If students have a semester grade >57% and the teacher is willing, the student will set up a schedule with their regular teacher to stay after school until all NM’s are corrected and half of the IM’s are corrected.
Aligned Curriculum Everyone Learns the Same Curriculum
Aligned Curriculum Everyone has possible Upward/Downward Mobility
…In 61 randomly selected schools, students were assigned to classes based on prior achievement as measured by test scores. In the remaining 60 schools, students were randomly assigned to one of the two classes, without regard to their prior academic performance. The results showed that all students benefited from tracking, including those who started out with low, average, and high achievement…
Duflo, Esther; Dupas, Pascaline; Kremer, Michael, (2009). Can Tracking Improve Learning?. Education Next, v9 n3 p64-70
Creating a Learning Environment for All Students
Dustin Johnson Badger High School in Lake Geneva, WI
[email protected] Cell: 608-574-7679