Posts filed under ‘Compass Learning’
CompassLearning design based on brain research
CompassLearning published an interesting piece explaining how the design of its curriculum aligns to brain-based research. The key points:
- Kids learn better when they are having fun. (Don’t adults too?) “Feeling good releases dopamine, which stimulates memory centers. Feeling pleasure also releases an attention-focusing neurotransmitter, acetylcholine.” In CompassLearning, as students “…complete enjoyable activities, students receive information and coaching delivered in the context of mistakes — a highly effective method of teaching.”
- The visual cortex is much more engaged in children than in adults. Therefore, CompassLearning integrates strong visual clues throughout the curriculum.
- Kids, digital natives, “…are parallel processors much more than they are linear thinkers, and shorter attention spans often accompany this propensity.” This translates into succinct activities and the use of humor and surprise to keep students engaged.
- Kids are social. CompassLearning utilizes a conversational style with characters as learning coaches to make learning more social.
To read the entire piece, click here.
The Time Is Now to Innovate!
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein
It is clear that Arne Duncan and his team at the U.S. Department of Education are looking for new ways to innovate education as we know it. This is clear as you look over the criteria and expectations set forth in many of the education stimulus funds available. Toward the end of last year, Lia Woo, provided some great references and starting points on how to locate these funding sources in her blog, “Show Me The Money!”
As a follow-up, and since it ‘tis the season for grant writing, I thought I would point out a few finds of my own that pertain to any public school in Hawaii, especially those serving our rural students and those partnering with It’s All About Kids’ education programs.
U.S. Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation (i3) – According to the press release on March 8, 2010, the U.S. Secretary of Education states $650 million is allocated for these i3 grants. Applicants may include school districts or groups of districts as well as non-profit partnerships with these school districts. Secretary Duncan is asking potential applicants to “address one of the four areas that are driving the Obama administration’s school reform agenda: supporting effective teachers and principals; improving the use of data to accelerate student achievement; complementing the implementation of standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and careers; and turning around persistently low-performing schools.”
W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Rural School and Community Trust – Michele McNeil, an Education Week Reporter, blogs on April 2, 2010 that the “Competition Will Be Fierce for ‘i3’ Grants,” but also notes that the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is here to help. This Foundation has just allocated $1.4 million to assist with technical assistance, including grant writing, to assist rural school districts to become competitive i3 applicants through their Rural School and Community Trust. (more…)
Intensive Intercession Camps – a solution to limited instructional time
Given the fact that the number of instructional days students will receive this year is down to 163, it seems schools will want to leverage intercession time to run intensive, targeted intervention and remediation programs. Last spring IAAK partnered with Ka’iulani School to offer a spring intercession H.S.A. Preparation Math Camp to 25 third through fifth grade “tipping point” students (as determined by 2008 H.S.A. scores). The H.S.A. Math Camp focused on key Numbers and Operations benchmarks utilizing a unique program design that combined individualized computer-based activities with offline collaborative, problem-based learning and games. Plus, the camp curriculum was aligned to ICLE’s Rigor & Relevance framework, ensuring students progressed through all four quadrants of learning/application. The result? Engaged and confident students who demonstrated proficiency on the 2009 H.S.A…. and enriched, inspired teachers!
The data is impressive. Seventy-two percent of the 4th graders met proficiency and 18 percent exceeded. In other words, only one 4th grade student did not advance from “approaching” to “met proficiency”. To learn more about the camp, review this Showcase School report.
Funded by Title I or ELO sources, the camps are easy to implement. IAAK staff can implement the entire camp or partner with teachers from your school to run it collaboratively. With the latter option, teachers receive training from IAAK on the program design, curriculum, and implementation. Math and Language Arts camps are available for students in grades three through five. It may just be the innovative solution your school needs to assist with student achievement in these challenging times.
Compass Learning Math Intervention – using RtI
CompassLearning has created a Math Intervention program, aligned to Response to Intervention, for students in grades five and six. Using the NCTM’s final report on Curriculum Focal Points (released in 2008), CompassLearning created a series of intervention learning paths organized by core concept/skill found in algebra. All learning paths include embedded progress monitoring to give teachers “real time” data.
The model is simple yet effective – assign a diagnostic objective-based pre-test to the student. Based on the student’s score on the pre-test, assign the appropriate tiered learning path. So, for instance, if the student gets 70% or more of the questions correct, he/she may benefit from the corresponding Tier I Intervention Learning Path. If the student gets 50-70% of the questions correct, he/she may benefit from the Tier II Intervention Learning Path. The various learning paths support three tiers of intervention:
- Tier I – Core students: those students who, generally at grade level, may need intervention on very focused specific standards.
- Tier II – Strategic Intervention: struggling students who have significant gaps, missing groups of skills needed to master concepts and standards.
- Tier III – Intensive Intervention: Students with extreme gaps in their learning, who are also failing to make progress is tier II.
The objective-based test can be assigned again upon completion of the learning path to measure mastery. This model is a great example of educational technology supporting strong pedagogy (RtI) and providing teachers with “real time” data – all to enhance student learning. If you’d like more information about this Math Intervention solution, call 487-5437.
CompassLearning wins 2009 BESSIE Awards
CompassLearning’s Odyssey Math 5-6 solution was recognized in the middle school mathematics intervention category. The Math 5-6 solution works within the Response to Intervention (RtI) process by supporting students at all levels. The program helps educators identify specific weaknesses and skill gaps and delivers personalized support.
The BESSIE awards target innovative and content-rich programs and website that provide parents and teachers with the technology to foster educational excellence. Winners are selected from titles submitted by software companies from around the world.
