Embedded Files
Binder Structure
Binder Structure
Every binder should have a front cover and spine with the student’s name and current level. The back outside cover should contain the completed Student Code of Conduct. The front pocket should contain the student’s Rewards Cards.
All student binders are organized in five tabbed sections:
Assessments
Assessments
This tab contains all completed Assessments and their associated Learning Plans. The newest Learning Plan should be at the front.
A student needs a new Assessment when they reach the colored page in their PK section. When the student reaches this page, make sure the binder is flagged to be updated and then find out from the Center Director which Assessment needs to be put in.
Do not help students who are working on Assessments, but be sure to include them in your Teach and Move On rotation to encourage them to keep working. Remind them that they can skip over questions they don't know how to do, and that they don't have to do the Assessment in order if they are getting discouraged by a particular part of it. An easy way to explain to a student why you can't help them on an Assessment is to say, "We need to know what you know, not what I know!"
Assessments should be completed in no more than two or three sessions. If you notice that a student has been working on an Assessment for longer, talk to your Center Director.
Unlike worksheets, students should not take pages of the Assessment out of their binder as they complete them, and you should not check problems on the Assessment as they work. When the student has attempted everything they think they can do on the Assessment, the whole Assessment should go to the Center Director to be graded and have a Learning Plan created.
To learn more about how to grade an Assessment, please see the Binder Updates section!
Mastery Checks
Mastery Checks
This tab contains completed Mastery Checks and the student’s current Mathnasium Master sheet.
Mastery Checks are the name for the last page in a PK. These are special pages designed to assess whether or not the student has grasped the concept the previous pages have been teaching, and to see if they can take the next step in Extending Knowledge for the subject. As a rule, do not help students who are working on Mastery Checks, as these are meant to gauge their understanding of the topic (see below for exceptions). However, do be sure to include them in your Teach and Move On rotation. Praise their effort, and give them encouragement.
Mastery Checks are not to be completed on the same day as another page in the same PK. They are to be taken with no previous practice of the subject on that day, and should be completed within a single session. Completed Mastery Checks have their own section, behind the Assessments tab and in front of the Warm Ups tab. All completed Mastery Checks go into this section.
Helping Students with Mastery Checks
If a student tells you they don’t feel ready for a Mastery Check, encourage them to try their best and remind them that Mastery Checks aren’t like tests or quizzes at school - just like on our Assessments, we want to know if they have mastered the skill, and if not, no big deal! It just means we will need to keep working on it. There are only a few reasons a student wouldn’t be ready for a Mastery Check: we didn’t teach the concept well enough, they are missing a prerequisite skill, or they are simply having a bad day. In all of those cases, another few days of practice is unlikely to fix the issue. The student is better served by attempting the Mastery Check - it may turn out that the only problem was low confidence, and they actually do know how to do it.
If the student starts working on their Mastery Check and it becomes clear to you that they truly don’t know what they’re doing, treat the Mastery Check like a normal PK page and help them through it. Try to identify the problem - are they missing a prerequisite skill? Did we simply not teach the concept to them well enough? You will indicate that they did not Master the topic this time on the student's Digital Workout Plan, then you should talk to your Center Director about what you observed while helping them complete the page. If you have been working on the Mastery Check with the student for a while and it becomes clear that it is going to take at least 30 minutes to get through it with little benefit to the student, set it aside and move on. Use your best judgment in these scenarios, and be sure to talk to your Center Director afterwards.
If a student does not demonstrate Mastery of a topic after taking their Mastery Check, talk to your Center Director about the appropriate next steps. In some cases, it will be fine for the student to continue working through their Learning Plan; in other cases, Mastery of that topic may be a prerequisite for the next PK in that section.
Mastered Mastery Checks
It is up to the instructor to determine whether a student has demonstrated Mastery of a topic. While correct answers on the page are a good indication, it is impossible to determine true Mastery without checking the student’s Metacognition verbally. It is possible for a student to get every question on a Mastery Check correct, but only have Competency in the topic because they are unable to explain their thought process using an efficient strategy. It is also possible for a student to demonstrate Mastery of a topic while still making a minor mistake or two on the Mastery Check. Students receive a full Reward Card for a Mastered Mastery Check, and you will enter the PK number, your initials, and the date on their Mathnasium Master Sheet (image above). If you fill in the tenth slot on the Mathnasium Master Sheet, the student should receive 10 Reward Cards and will need a new Mathnasium Master Sheet. Check with your Center Director for the specific procedure for your center.
Bypass Pages
Bypass Pages have this icon near the bottom of the page. These pages are there to let you, as the instructor, know that all pages following this one are just extra practice. If you feel your student has mastered the topic on a page containing the Bypass symbol, you may then remove all pages from that PK between it and the Mastery Check. This allows the student to take the Mastery Check for that topic on their next visit, and thus move on to the next topic. In a few very specific cases, the Bypass icon says “Bypass to page X” - keep an eye out for this, since in this case you would only remove the pages of that PK up until page X.
Challenging the Mastery Check
Students are allowed to challenge the Mastery Check of a PK section if you, as the instructor, believe they have mastered the concept being taught. Students can do this in two ways. First, they have successfully completed a Bypass Page, and are able to demonstrate Mastery of the subject. Alternatively, you can create your own Bypass Page by advancing the student to the second to last page of the PK topic, immediately before the Mastery Check, to see if they understand the concept. In each of these cases, use Extending Knowledge to check their readiness for the challenge questions. In general, don’t allow the student to ask for the challenge. It should be something you offer. Additionally, the student must demonstrate Mastery in order to continue.
Warm Ups
Warm Ups
Warm Ups are the first section a Mathnasium student turns to when they sit down at your table. We use them to get a student back into math mode after leaving school. Warm Ups should take about 5 minutes to complete at the beginning of the session. If a student does not complete their Warm Up within 10 minutes, cut it off and move on to PKs.
Warm Ups should be replaced when the student has completed every activity on the cover page or when the section is empty. When deciding which Warm Up to give a student next, it is generally best to defer to your Center Director, or to a Lead Instructor if they feel comfortable making that decision. There are four basic types of Warm Ups to choose from:
Smart Addition & Subtraction Strategies (Levels A, C and M)
Smart Multiplication Strategies (Levels A, C and M)
Mental Math Strategies (Levels A, C and M)
Assessment level Warm Ups (Checkups 2-7, Algebra Readiness, and Algebra 1A/1B)
Students will not always complete all three levels (A, C and M) of the first three types. The student’s grade level, skill level, current Assessment level, etc. must all be taken into account when deciding what Warm Ups to assign next.
Warm Ups of every type are printed on colored paper (other than blue or green, since these are used for assessments). This helps to visually separate them from the rest of the student’s material. The four types of Warm Ups described above all have a cover sheet that you will initial and date to show the student has completed that day's activity. The Warm Up pages should be completed in order. A student gets one stamp for doing a Warm Up, whether it is a worksheet or an off-the-page activity.
Some cover pages have a Games section. It is up to you whether you choose to play a game with a student for their Warm Up that day; if you have a busy table, it is probably not the best time. Each game on the sheet can only be chosen twice. Once the Games section is filled up, students can't play any more games as Warm Ups until they move on to their next set.
For more information on printing new Warm Up material, please see the Binder Updates section.
PKs
PKs
This tab contains the PKs (Prescriptives) and WOBs (Work Out Books) a student is currently working on.
PKs address specific topics that a student did not demonstrate mastery of on an Assessment. WOBs are mixed practice primarily designed to introduce and reinforce number sense, mathematical thinking, and problem solving. Pages in this section are shuffled to provide distributed practice and generally follow the pattern of three PK pages (one each from three different topics) followed by one or two WOB pages.
Correcting Worksheets
When a student is working on their current page, it’s important to spot check as you go. This will prevent a student from completing a page incorrectly all the way through. As you spot check, check mark correct answers and circle incorrect ones. Once an incorrect question has been corrected, you should put a checkmark through your original circle.
You do not need to check every question on every page. Pages are a tool, not the goal - the goal is Mastery! Focus on checking for understanding more than for accuracy (although accuracy is still important, perfection is not). Once you are satisfied the student has understood the page, you should date, initial, and stamp it.
A general rule of thumb: if the student has correctly explained how to do a problem at the beginning of the page (Proactive Teaching), correctly explained how they got a correct answer (Metacognition), and you have checked one or two other questions for accuracy, you should consider the page completed. We are aiming for conceptual understanding, not perfection. Exceptions to this would be topics where computational accuracy is the main goal, but even then, students do not need to correct every minor mistake to demonstrate they understand and can consistently execute the process!
If the page is quicker to grade with an Answer Key rather than doing the problems yourself mentally (e.g. Order of Operations), you can access these through the student's Digital Workout Plan.
If for some reason the correct PK or WOB is not listed for your student, you can manually locate the correct Answer Key by selecting the Answer Key Search option at the top of the Instruction Manager screen.
In the search bar, enter the PK number or WOB chapter found in the bottom right hand corner of the page that you want to check. You can then scroll through the section to the page that you need. The page number is also found at the bottom right hand corner of any PK or Workout Book page (image below).
If you find a discrepancy on one of the Answer Key pages, please submit a Curriculum Corrections Form. You can find this link on the home page of Radius in the Mathnasium Support box.
Completed
Completed
This tab contains recently completed Warm Ups, PKs, and WOBs. It should be cleaned out regularly (see Binder Updates) to prevent the binder from becoming too full. Old student worksheets are cut up for scratch paper.
Session Structure
Session Structure
Just like every student binder has the same basic structure, every student session follows the same basic plan. Each session starts with a Warm Up, followed by PKs and WOBs, homework time (if applicable), and possibly game time in the last few minutes. As a rule of thumb, students should complete at least 4 pages from their PK section per session. Mathnasium work always comes before homework. The session always concludes with a Last Stamp of the Day Conversation.
Instruction Manager
Instruction Manager
The Radius Instruction Manager has a number of useful features that will help each student session go smoothly. To access it, find the Instructor Dashboard bookmark on the home screen of your tablet or laptop, then click on the Radius button on the Dashboard. You will arrive at the Instruction Manager page:
In the top right corner, you will see a drop down menu that allows you to check in each student when they sit down at your table. Start typing a student’s name to search the list.
Students who are already checked in are listed at the bottom of the screen. They are sorted alphabetically by default, but you can “pin” the students who are seated at your table to the top of the list.
You will be able to quickly access the Digital Workout Plan for each student you are working with.
Homework Policy
Homework Policy
With the exception of “Homework Help Only” students, homework is not our priority. Mathnasium work always comes first because it is specifically targeted to skills we know the student needs to work on. Our goal with homework is to help the student make connections between how we do math at Mathnasium and what they are doing in school, and to build their confidence. We are not guaranteeing that the student will finish their homework at Mathnasium, or that they will get a 100 on it; however, we do want to make sure that any problems we did help the student with are correct.
One way to mark which problems you checked is to place a small indicator next to each problem you worked with the student on. A dot, a small square, a star, or your initials will all work; however, previous experiences have warned against using check marks to mark correct problems, as teachers tend not to appreciate this. Leaving a mark on checked problems prevents future misunderstandings with parents; if they bring in a homework assignment they are unhappy about, the Center Director will be able to talk to them about which problems were checked and reestablish the expectation that we don’t have time to work on every problem.
Students who stay for 90 minutes may start their homework after 45 minutes, assuming they have finished their Mathnasium work (as a rule of thumb, at least 4 pages from their PK section); students who stay for 60 minutes may start their homework after 40 minutes, with the same condition. Do not start homework earlier than this; they can always do more Mathnasium work! Remember to reserve the last 5 minutes of the session for the Last Stamp of the Day Conversation.
If a student does not put forth effort to get through their Mathnasium work, you do not have to let them work on homework. If this happens, be sure to let the parent or guardian know, either in person (preferred) or through the Center Director. Be sure to talk to the student about how they can do better next time.
Game Policy
Game Policy
Unless they are part of a student's Warm Ups or worksheets, games should only be played in the last 5-10 minutes of a student's session, and only if they have completed all of their Mathnasium binder work.
Games should not be played at instruction tables where other students are working, since they distract both the other students and the instructor.
If there is not an instructor available to play a game with a student, direct them to play a single-player game, or to play against another student who has also finished their work.
Games should be used as a teaching tool! Playing 99 or Bust without talking about addition strategies, particularly if the student is finger counting their way through it, is actively harming their math development.
For more information about the games themselves, see Games.
Last Stamp of the Day Conversation
Last Stamp of the Day Conversation
The purpose of the Last Stamp of the Day Conversation is to review the work completed by the student and discuss what has been learned throughout the session. This prepares them to answer their parent when they ask "So what did you learn today?" The general pattern of the conversation should go:
What is something you did well on today?
What is something you need to keep practicing?
A review or Extending Knowledge question to help the student retain knowledge
An example of a good Last Stamp Conversation might go like this:
Instructor: “Alright, we’re almost done for the day. Let’s go ahead and fill out a Last Stamp of the Day Form and talk about what we’ve worked on. What did we do today?”
Student: “Uhhh.... I remember working on fractions for my first PK.”
Instructor: “Excellent! Let’s be more specific though - what were we doing with fractions?”
Student: “Well, I remember multiplying the top and the bottom of the fraction by the same number.”
Instructor: “Let me ask you a question about that. When you multiply the top and the bottom by the same amount, is the fraction getting smaller, larger, or staying the same?”
Student: “Staying the same!”
Instructor: “Well done! So we are changing what the fraction is called, but the amount stays the same. What do you call fractions that are equal in value? … equal fractions… equal fractions…”
Student: “...equivalent fractions!”
Instructor: “Perfect! Now how did you feel about that PK? Was it challenging for you?”
Student: “Yeah, it took me a while to finish that page.”
Instructor: “Then let's make sure to focus more on that next time and fill it out here…”
Paper Form
Your center may also have students fill out a paper form recording the Last Stamp of the Day Conversation. While the learning reflection conversation is the most important part of this last part of the Mathnasium Hour, a secondary function of the Last Stamp Form is to teach students responsibility for taking something home and bringing it back, an important skill for homework! Students should receive one stamp for filling out their Last Stamp form. They can receive an additional stamp if they bring it back to the center with a parent’s signature on it.
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