Gooru Navigate Math
Navigate Math is a personalized pre-algebra platform that builds foundational skills.
August 9, 2016
Craft Category: Artifacts
August 9, 2016
Student Perspective on Peer Grading at LPS Richmond
A student shares how peer grading through “team checks” works to help her get better grades.
Transcript:
Student: There are team checks. Team checks are when a partner needs to grade you. A partner needs to grade you in order for Miss Thomas to grade you. Does that make sense?
Interviewer: Yep.
Student: So, you have to go through the partner process first. And then Miss Thomas passes you. She helps me a lot by grading my writing tasks. In order for Miss Thomas to grade me on the writing task, a partner needs to grade you. So, you have the best possible grades.
August 9, 2016
Peer Grading at LPS Richmond
Sophia Thomas, teacher, explains how peer grading is used as a strategy to deepen learning. Students use a rubric to grade their own and others’ work.
Transcript:
Interviewer: Can you talk about grading? I noticed that students can grade their own, then peer grade, then you.
Teacher (Sophia Thomas): Yeah. That’s for the note taking and the writing task. As I did with how to set your weekly goals, when we started out, we modeled that. First, there was a whole lesson on the different categories in the rubric and what it meant. There was another lesson where we looked at two exemplars for a writing task. I went through and graded the writing task under the dot cam. Then I made comments manually. Then there was a screencast video that showed them how to do that online. It showed how to make a copy of the document, how to comment, how to share it with each other. Watch the _____, and if you’re commenting, how you should use the language of the rubric to comment on your peer’s product. Also, how to use the language after rubric to determine what score do they actually deserve. I wouldn’t say they’re perfect at it but sometimes it’s really cool to see the kind of comment that they’re leaving on each other’s document. The other thing about that is it forces at least another person to see your product and engage with you about that. They may have questions. What do you mean by this? It makes you be a little bit more reflective about the kind of product that you’re producing.
August 9, 2016
Direct Instruction for Non-cognitive Skills at LPS
Walk through of how the first two units are structured as a class.
LPS initially built and tested their Academic Numeracy course in Google Sheets, and many of those practices have been captured as Blended and Personalized Learning Strategies. LPS has worked with Gooru to create Navigate Math, a free tool any school can use. These screencasts cover strategies that can be applied through both Google Sheets and Navigate Math, though the latter is used in screencasts for demonstration purposes.
August 9, 2016
Large Group Instruction at LPS Richmond
Sophia Thomas, teacher, explains how and when she uses large group instruction to support students.
Transcript: Sophia Thomas: you’re going to have to figure out ways to be really effective. When can I do a whole group thing? Something I want the whole group to learn at this time. I can look at the data and I can see they’re all struggling with are infractions on the number line? This is something I can do as a whole group to clarify this misconception.
August 9, 2016
Students’ Weekly Goals at LPS Richmond
Sophia Thomas, teacher, explains how student set weekly goals for their learning.
Transcript: Sophia Thomas: Their weekly goal is around thinking for this week I am starting the week at maybe 50 percent. Do I want my goal to be a completion goal? Maybe I want to be at 70 percent completion by the end of the week. It could be a performance goal. Their goal could also be focused around a habit or mindset goal. I noticed I was not really focused as I was doing my work so I want to be really focused. I want to have a positive attitude. I want to ask for help. They have a variety of things that they can choose from at the very top. We do force them or encourage them to pick a number of assignments or assessments that they want to complete during the week. Along with that, also think about what kind of goal are you really focusing on? A lot of kids write they’re really pushing for completion. A lot of their goals are on completion. I noticed I’ve not been asking for help. I want to ask for help this week. Or, I noticed that I am not checking my answers or double checking. I want to do that this week.
August 9, 2016
Heterogeneous Teams at LPS Richmond
Sophia Thomas, teacher, uses a heterogeneous teaming strategy to support student learning.
Transcript: Sophia Thomas: I decided to switch after my first team competition to heterogeneous groupings. How did I make that choice? In the first semester, the first unit was done through a whole class model because that’s a time where I’m teaching them all the skills that they’re going to need to be able to do this self-directed learning. From that summative exam, I was able to recognize who was going to be where. I made sure that on every team there was a mix of kids. So, it’s heterogeneous groupings. They have switched teams about three to four times now consistently making sure that the groupings are heterogeneous. It’s really cool because they learn so much from each other. Why teams? I believe that they have the greatest influence and impact on each other. They’re less resistant if they need help. It’s easier for them to ask for help in a team setting. It just lowers the effective filter about your capabilities of what you can do and what you can’t do. The way it was set up is that you’re not only responsible for your own writing. We’re working as a team. If we’re working as a team, as a team you have one goal. We’re here to learn. If someone on your team is not learning or is not accomplishing their goal then the team in itself has not accomplished the goal. That was the message from the start. We also used the idea of what research has proven. Students actually learn best from each other. […] collaborative effort has just allowed kids to experience success. When the team is successful, there is that one kid who, if it was just them working, they’d never get a shout out. But you’re working with a team and your team gets a shout out. That is crazy cool. I had this one kid who it’s like pulling teeth to get anything done. In the last two to three weeks, he’s been like come on man. We’ve got to get this done. I generally need to pull him for individual check-ins. He’s all antsy because he just wants to go back and contribute to his team. That’s what it has done. A kid like that before was like his head was on the desk. I don’t want to do this.
August 9, 2016
Teammates as a Source of Motivation at LPS Richmond
Sophia Thomas, teacher, explains how peers can be a source of support and motivation for students in setting and attaining goals.
Transcript: Sophia Thomas: One cool thing I saw happening really early was that there was this really nice peer pressure that was happening when students weren’t picking goals that were going to really push them or weren’t really good goals. I clearly remember one week a student decided he was going to only do three assessments for the entire week. When, in fact, you’re expected to do at least two per day. Immediately, because the recorder was writing stuff down, they’re like how many – because they do that on a weekly basis and they do it on a daily basis. They are checking in. When he said three, immediately a student said come on. You can do better than that. How about five? Another one said, no, no, no. Seven, he can do seven. He was like no. And it was like come on, man. You can do seven. Eventually, he was like, okay, I guess. He went ahead and changed his goal. That pressure would be such a more difficult conversation when it’s coming from the teacher. But to have your peers actually say you need to set higher expectations for yourself and have them do that. That is really cool
August 9, 2016
Working in Teams at LPS Richmond
An LPS student explains how they work with others in class.
Transcript:
Student: My name is Obet.
Interviewer: Obet. And can you tell me about kind of working on teams in this class?
Student: Well we basically – we have units. On our team we’re like on a different unit. And if like I’m in Unit Three and then my other teammate – if I need help in Unit Three, she helps me, because like she’s moving on to Unit Four. And, yeah, what we basically do in that too.
August 9, 2016