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During the COVID-19 pandemic, middle school students everywhere struggled to learn from home. Students were having a difficult time following along during online learning, students experienced technical difficulties, and teachers struggled to provide students with the proper resources they needed to master standards. To address this challenge for my students and their families, I conducted research to figure out how I could better support my students' learning from afar. I first conducted a needs assessment in which I surveyed families and then set up parent conferences with my students that were struggling most during online learning. During my research and parent conferences, I discovered the need to open the door for students to receive better online assistance. I connected with colleagues and my coach at Wheeler Middle School and drafted my early-stage plan to create "Appleseed Math", a YouTube channel with engaging Math lesson videos on the most foundational concepts of 6th grade. After recording and editing my lesson videos, I assigned the first video lesson (Introduction to Decimals) to my students, gathered student feedback, and encouraged families to have their students watch my channel when they were struggling with class assignments.
This was an outside opportunity for my students because most of my students did not have access to recordings of my math lessons and many of my students weren't allowed to come to learn in person last year due to the pandemic. I opened the door for them to learn at their own pace from home and rewatch my lessons during the pandemic.
Research & Takeaways
Research & Takeaways
Copy of NeedsAssess_SummaryFindings_Rosadino-Jonathan.docx.pdf
The first step I took in my research was conducting a needs assessment to figure out what students most needed to better learn from home during distance learning. In order to do this, I surveyed and conversed with families to see how we could navigate the challenges of online learning together for their students.
The biggest takeaways from my research were:
42.5% of families I surveyed said "improved tutoring/remedial programs" was their students' most important need during online learning
Students need improved opportunities to learn from home that do not require live, in-person support
Since students were constantly online, they were “frequently distracted” – said a parent – by social media applications such as Tik Tok, Instagram and Snapchat
Parents are struggling to assist their students with completing schoolwork, attending classes consistently, and participating in class with their busy work lives.
Parent Conferences
Parent Conferences
My students' families were extremely supportive in our conferences together. They reassured me that their students had a hard time focusing on online instruction due to at-home distractions, and needed a gateway to learn at a more convenient time at home when the wifi wasn't being overused, when younger siblings weren't running around the kitchen, or when home became too noisy.
After conducting my initial needs assessment, I continued my research by setting up parent-teacher-student conferences with my most struggling students during online learning. Families felt valued during this process and expressed their appreciation that Appleseed Math aimed to provide students with more than just academic support; it aimed to provide them with lifelong technology skills and study strategies that would serve them well over the course of their academic careers. Appleseed Math opened the door for students to access academic content from home whenever they needed it, and parents appreciated the flexibile schedule it provided them during such a hectic time where everyone was crammed working from home together. It was these family meetings that informed my instructional decision-making from that point on. I learned that lesson videos were an effective learning solution because of their self-paced nature and flexbility.
M.S Annual Review.docx.docx (1) (1).pdfStudent #2:
I learned from this conference that this student thrives in a blended learning format where students watched videos and completed independent activities afterwards.
Planning & Implementation
Planning & Implementation
After conducting my needs assessment and holding my parent conferences, it was time to plan. One of my assignments in Teaching For Transformation was to design a timeline and an action plan, so I dedicated that assignment to crafting an organized timeline and action plan for Appleseed Math.
I designed my action plan by putting my synthesized research on paper. This action plan lists and describes the need that Appleseed Math was addressing, goals, roadblocks, expected student involvement, and data outcomes, all of which helped me to realize the most effective approach to the project.
I started the planning process for Appleseed Math with a creative description of the tutoring service and its purpose for my students. Then I had to find a logo (below) for the YouTube Channel.
This lesson introduces students to exponents in a fun, engaging way as exponents are compared to superheroes. Students will learn what they are and what they mean when they appear in numerical expressions.
Standard - CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.EE.A.1 : Write and evaluate numerical expressions involving whole-number exponents.
I listed out the foundational common core standards of math in sixth grade. From there, I started recording short lesson videos, each aligned to one of those standards. Once the videos were completed, I edited them in iMovie and uploaded them to the YouTube channel.
Decimals_8.6.21.mp4This lesson introduces students to all four mathematical operations used with decimals.
Standard - CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.NS.B.1 : Fluently add, subtract, multiply, and divide multi-digit decimals using the standard algorithm for each operation.
PrimeFactorization_8.6.21.mp4This lesson introduces students to a strategy we use to find the Greatest Common Factor (GCF) and the Least Common Multiple (LCM) at the same time for a pair of numbers. It is called Prime Factorization.
Standard - CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.NS.B.4
Student Engagement
Student Engagement
The beauty of Appleseed Math is it has allowed students to engage with their own learning processes in a multitude of ways. For example, I have let my students join in on the project with me and create the videos together! In addition, because the lesson videos allow students to learn at home at their own pace, I have provided three different options for students to showcase their learning.
video 2.MP4This video shows the first segment of one of my Appleseed Math lessons on volume. As you can see, students often participate in the creation of an Appleseed Math lesson on volume. I am always trying to provide opportunties for my students to become the teachers! In addition, the video was posted on Tik Tok instead of YouTube because it became apparent more students were inclined to watch if posted there.
I have had students engage with Appleseed Math videos in numerous ways outside of participating in the lesson creation. I have made templates for students to fill out as they watch the video, I have required students to show their work on scratch paper while watching a video, and I have had students annotate print-outs of my own video notes as they folllow along in the video.
Templates
This template was filled out by a student as they watched an Appleseed Math lesson on Unit Rate.
Show Your Work!
This scrap paper shows the work a student showed as they solved problems done in an Appleseed Math lesson.
Video Notes
This is a copy of my Appleseed Math video notes that were annotated and filled out by a student.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Appleseed Math is an excellent outside opportunity for my students because they did not previously have access to a video lesson they could rewatch from their teachers before. After much research, family conferences and data collection, I have learned it is important to provide students with resources like Appleseed Math so they can learn at their own pace, engage with academic material in fun new ways, and receive additional support at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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