Shadwell
Project Summary
My project is a way to personalize learning in math and incorporate coding into the math curriculum. Students were preassessed in Schoology using custom standards, and I used that information to create a personalized pathway for the math unit. Students had a matrix of must-do and can-do items for each lesson in a Google hyperdoc that they accessed daily through Schoology. They met with me for differentiated small group instruction daily while other students worked through their choice matrices. They then reflected on their mastery of the learning target each day with evidence from their must-do and can-do items.
Slide Deck
Project Sample
Since the preassessment was created and delivered in Schoology, I was able to attach a custom standard to each test item. I generated a mastery report and used the data to sort students into one of three leveled groups each day: red, yellow, or green.
This is a sample of the student pathway form with lesson numbers, learning targets, the student's group color for each day, and her reflections & evidence of standard mastery.
I created a Google hyperdoc and made a live link to it in Schoology so students would have access to any changes I made as the unit progressed. (See sample on left.) Students found their colors each day and worked through their "must do" and "can do" tasks at their own pace while I met with each group to provide differentiated instruction on the standard. I pulled resources from a variety of sources, such as Everyday Mathematics games and videos, LearnZillion, and Nearpod self-paced lessons. These activities were the basis for student evidence as they reflected on their standard mastery each day. I plan to incorporate Code.org, Dash & Dot with the Blockly app, and Tynker into the choice menu next year after introducing this format and establishing procedural routines and expectations.
Results
The data above shows student performance on the year's math unit tests. My project addressed Unit 8 content (highlighted). Both the mean and median scores were the second highest of the year, despite the more challenging content due to Unit 8 falling toward the end of the year. I saw the greatest measurable impact with my lower achieving students. The minimum score in this unit was 77%, while the minimum the rest of the year ranged from 36%-72%. Anecdotally, students responded very positively to the format of the unit. My higher-achieving students showed a marked preference for this format because they had the opportunity to try new, challenging things. Students reported enjoying the choice aspect, and their reflections and evidence of content mastery gave them greater ownership of their learning.