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Flipped Learning and the Achievement Gap

Robert St. Cyr

The Problem

In a traditional school, students typically are lectured to in class by a teacher and there’s very limited opportunity for discourse. Yes, you read that right, there is very little opportunity for interaction when students are together with peers and their teacher. They are then assigned homework that they do by themselves at home at precisely the time when human interaction is most needed. Despite the crippling limitations with this process, it works quite well for middle-income students because they typically have the support system at home to explain salient points they might have missed during the lecture. Not so much for kids of low-income parents. Essentially, middle-income students get the help they need to close the knowledge gaps as soon as they are formed. Middle-income students do not carry those gaps from session to session or grade to grade, causing them to fall further behind with time. Low-income kids, on the other hand, typically don’t have that support and so they carry those gaps with them all the way to the working world where they, like their parents, will only qualify for low-income jobs. The pattern is obvious.

Continue reading “Flipped Learning and the Achievement Gap” →

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Electronics/Robotics make Kids Excited about Math!

Robert St. Cyr

The UK gave 1 million  micro:bit computers to students in 2016 in an attempt to get more kids, especially girls, excited about STEM careers. The initiative has been met with so much success that Germany has followed suit and now India! They strongly believe that getting kids to learn about electronics and how to code will also get them more interested in math and sciences.

Here in the US, the maker movement is also vibrant with small computers like Arduino , Raspberry Pi, Beagle Board, and others. However no investment has been made to reach the broader community as in the UK. Until now. The micro:bit Foundation has committed to delivering 2 million micro:bits to students in the United States and Canada by the year 2020!

Micro:bit is a credit-card sized computer that can accept inputs from switches and sensors, do some processing and display measurements or control other devices. They can be used to make a variety of things – a burglar alarm, a smoke detector or thermostat, for example. This micro:bit was designed so that it can be programmed by school kids using a visual programming language (think drag and drop) like Scratch or Block (for elementary school kids). And for older or more experienced kids, it can be programmed using JavaScript or Python, which are both popular programming languages used in industry.

The neat thing about the device is how much you can do with it even before adding additional sensors or output devices. It has a built in LED display, thermometer, compass, and a magnetometer.

So how does it help with math? Well, the micro:bit and other computers engage kids and make them eager to learn and apply math to get the most out of it. Not to state the obvious, but students learn more when they are excited about what they are learning! And it’s really true, math is the language of science and technology. So put the two together and watch the magic happen. Here’s an example of how easy it is to program a button to display a message on the LED display.

on button A pressed

  • To apply their knowledge of unit conversion students can calculate and display temperature readings in both Celsius to Fahrenheit.
  • To apply their knowledge of multiplication and division, they can calculate resistor values to keep a circuit from being overloaded.
  • To apply their knowledge of angles, they can control a robot’s arm to move to a precise point or show the angle from magnetic north.
  • To apply their knowledge of fractions, they can choose the proper gear ratios for their robots.
  • To exercise their skills in solving multi-step problems, they can add complications in their designs.
  • and more!

These days, schools and parents are getting their kids exposed to STEM like never before and with good reason – it’s where the jobs of the future are. And even if your child is not interested in STEM, he will be a consumer of technology and this exposure will allow him to to make more informed technology decisions.

 

 

 

 

 

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How to Solve Any Math Problem (Polya’s 4-step)

Robert St. Cyr

This post is about providing students a process for solving math problems that also helps them show their work.

The ability for students to solve word problems and showing their work are both very important skills for them to be successful. And it is also in showing their work that we as parents get to see that our kids truly understand the concept at hand.  When we see how they answered the question can we further their mastery of the topic by engaging in useful discourse to find additional solutions or digging deeper into the concept.

On the other hand, if the student did not answer correctly, we can see where he went wrong – was it just an addition error or did he misunderstand the concept altogether? Your approach in helping the student will then adapt to address the root cause of the error.

Lucky for us, there’s a problem-solving process that was devised by mathematician George Polya (How to Solve It, 1945) that is still being used today. It involves just 4 sequential steps that almost seem like common sense:

  1. Understand the problem
  2. Devise a plan
  3. Carry out the plan
  4. Look back

If the student documents the plan, she will invariably have provided the logic behind the solution thereby fulfilling the “show your work” requirement. Let’s use a 3rd grade math example to see how this works.

Solving Problems Example

If you decide to teach your student this process, use a math problem that they can easily solve so he can focus on the process itself and not the problem.  Then next time your student or child is doing some challenging math, just do the 4-step!

 

 

 

 

Research

Summer Slide and the Achievement Gap

Robert St. Cyr

A quick search on the Internet using the key words “Summer Achievement Gap” will yield several research studies that claim the United State’s long summer vacation is a significant cause of under-achievement for many of our students and exacerbates the achievement gap between low income students and their more affluent peers. It’s not the only cause and might not even be the main cause, but it’s a significant cause nonetheless.

When two months go by without any academic enrichment, students don’t just stagnate. That would not be so bad. Rather, they begin to forget what they learned, which adversely affects their ability to meet the rigor of the next school year.

These studies show that achievement typically grows at about the same rate for all students during the school year but begin to diverge during the summer months putting students with no enrichment opportunities at a significant disadvantage! Students who read over the summer and hone their skills in Math and English, not surprisingly, do far better than students who don’t. They are not smarter. They just put in a few hours in over the summer.

Summer is a great time to fill any knowledge gaps that will be needed for the subsequent school year or even to get a head start. Students can move at their own pace, which will put them on much better footing for whatever the next school year brings. If a student goes into the next school year without a good understanding of concepts they should have learned in the prior year, they are not set up for success. And with every year that passes it gets worse and worse. We see it in our test scores.

Participating in a summer program is a small investment that will pay dividends over the student’s lifetime. If you are a CHML parent of a third or fourth grader, this is a great time to get a tutor. We have a group of free tutors available that will work on your schedule. It is typically only one hour per week of your commitment. See our contact page for more info.

An article by Johns Hopkins University titled Why Summer Learning Deserves a Front-Row Seat in the Education Reform Arena has a good treatment of the issue. References on this topic go back to 1906!  http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/Journals/spring2010/why-summer-learning/index.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90apeIzulSs

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When should I get a tutor for my child?

Robert St. Cyr

Now.

That answers the question but here are a bunch of reasons why I think that is. Some are obvious, some I discovered while tutoring over the past few months and some are from my very rudimentary research.

  1. Getting started earlier will help the student prepare for standardized testing with enjoyment rather than stress. The student can go at her own pace, which will assure that she understands a particular topic before moving on to the next.
  2. Set the foundation early. Learning objectives are set for each grade with the assumption that the student has met the knowledge objectives of the previous grade. Without that foundation, progress is hampered. A student who has not done well in 3rd grade will invariably do poorly in subsequent grades unless remediation is taken. After all, how can we expect a student to divide multi-digit numbers in 4th grade if they are still struggling with multiplication – a concept they should have a good handle on in 3rd? So by starting now, we in the parent community can proactively give them the opportunity.
  3. Achieve more even in over crowded classrooms. A tutor will give the child focused attention for concepts she might have difficulty grasping as not enough time is available from the teacher. The student will then be better prepared to maximize the use of class time.
  4. A different point of view. If the student is taught a different approach to a problem, their understanding will grow and the knowledge will stick in their mind as he builds mastery.
  5. Builds confidence and desire. A student who can meet their learning objectives will have the confidence and desire to independently pursue more academic aspirations.
  6. Ace standardized tests, which may be used if your child wants to get into an “application” school.
  7. Homework gets done!

Did you know there’s free tutoring at Capitol Hill Montessori? The schedule is flexible and there are volunteers available for Grades 3 and 4. It’s amazing what an hour per week can do, contact us for more details.