Lisa

=May Entry= I just completed a course in Curriculum & Assessment at UMF and one of the requirements for the course was to develop a resource wiki, so of course I created one based around RTI the following link will provide access but please remember that it is a work in progress. My wiki has pages for Math Teacher resources, student resources, curriculum strand, etc.. I hope to have more time to work on it over the summer. I also hope to begin a wiki for at least some of the courses that I will be teaching next school year. I had to add an additional content area for my class, so that's why an English page is added. I will be interested to hear what you think. Here's the link MVHS.RTI.resources

=March Entry= I tried a new review strategy in Honors Algebra II. After giving the students a review packet for a test, the next class we went over the packet and then tried a new review game and here's the gist! The game is Chutes & Ladders. I copied and laminated the board and brought in small toys and other game pieces for students to use. I made cards with different types of quadratic questions that would be on their test. The rules and the questions are attached. Students seemed to like the idea of playing Chutes & Ladders. They split up into 5 groups of 3 or 4 students and got to work answering questions and playing the game. Students had to answer questions correctly to move forward when they rolled the die. Students were encouraged to help one another solve the problems on the cards as they played the game. Instant feedback was positive but I will see results after their chapter test next class. Let me know what you think of this activity.... =February Entry= Meg great idea to move students to write their hearts out. The pictures of the hair were shocking and heart wrenching to think about. The two poems you posted were very moving. What a great way to motivate students to write from their souls. The results of your strategy were absolutely amazing. I wish I could find a way to move students in math.... Kudos to you! =January Entry= Success! To go along with Sarah's post, I have a brochure that was created for the presentation to the School Board for MVHS RTI Math. The data to support Sarah's post is in the pie charts in the brochure. For some reason it won't let me upload the brochure. I will check with Mary and hopefully have it uploaded soon. I would also like to say in creating the Wordle (the front page image) for the brochure, I obtained feed back on the Math RTI program from my RTI students. The words that are the biggest in the print were repeated most often. I have also listed the students comments below which really is our success, because instead of wanting to get out of RTI for Semester 2 students actually want to stay in. They are feeling more confident in their course work and with math in general and for most students who struggle in math it is now one of their highest grades. Thank you to all of you who have support the program!

__Student comments:__ I like RTI math because it seems to boost my math grade compared to last year.

RTI really helps a lot. It helps me get a better understanding of what we are learning about in class. Its extra help a lot of kids need it. I am glad we have it.

RTI helped me a lot. It makes me think about questions more and there is more one-on-one time with the teacher. I learned how to listen more.

I feel that RTI has helped me as a mathematics student be able to grasp my math capabilities better and in a more understanding manner. I also feel this program should stay in our school district because it helps students get an idea of what they will be approaching next in their math courses, as well as helping them feel more comfortable about talking to a teacher when they have a question.

I think that RTI is a very helpful class when it comes to math. You get help on your homework and extra study time for your test. If it wasn’t for this class I would be failing right now. We are very productive.

I think RTI is very helpful. Last year I was failing for most of the year and barely passed the class. This year I’ve held a steady 3.4, RTI helps me to get homework done and to study for tests.

I love RTI. It helps me when I don’t understand something in any subject, not just math. Also Ms. Russell is very nice and fun so I love RTI.

RTI helps me when I don’t understand something. In RTI Ms. Russell helps you on stuff that you are going to learn next class and to get ready for your next math class.

I think RTI is really good because it helps me get good grades and it helps me practice what we are doing in regular class. It gives me time to study for a test.

I think that RTI is the best thing because it just gives you the help you need and because it gets you prepared for the next class and tests.

RTI has helped me during the year when using the calculator and with some of the work.

RTI helped me out a lot and I’m looking to do it again next semester.

My thoughts on RTI are that I like it. It helped me improve on my math skills. I’m starting to like it.

The time I spent in RTI really helps me in my math classes this year. I’ve really liked the idea but I didn’t like it at first. When I started seeing my grades, I love it. =November Entry= Dilemma The math department does have a dilemma that hopefully soon will be resolved. 1. The students at MVHS tend to be allowed to enter science courses that are inappropriate for level of ability of the student. A couple of years ago we (Science & Math departments) collaborated together and came up with pre-requisites needed for each level of math & science offered, but those pre-requisites are not always adhered to and as a result students, at times, get in over their heads. Teachers and students become frustrated. So the dilemma is... how do we resolve this dilemma. Keep in mind one of the issues that comes into play is, Example situation: Johnny is a freshman in H. Biology, struggling to maintain a 2.9 and recommendation time comes around and Miss Pasterknack thinks; "Oh Johnny is a great kid, always does his homework and comes in for extra help when needed, so I'm going to recommend him for H. Chemistry." So even though Johnny is a great student, H. Biology doesn't have much math, so when Johnny gets to H. Chemistry the struggles become more magnified. 2. It has become apparent that students do not have the math skills for certain concepts in Chemistry and Physics. One of the issue is stated above (misplaced), however the other issue is a curriculum issue. Meaning that the math & science departments need to better align their curriculum to meet student needs, not our curriculum needs. So we (math & science departments) have a plan to meet on an upcoming late start Wed. to try to better shape our curriculum to meet these needs. One dilemma is time, this won't happen in one meeting. I proposed in the mean time that we, as teachers in any subject, can not assume that students have had certain concepts and even if they have had them a refresher of the concept and how it connects to the other discipline would be a tremendous help and stress reliever to all involved. Any other suggestions to help us help students is welcome! Also I want to say that I'm proud to have colleagues that are willing to collaborate and the opportunity to do so!

I agree, Lisa. I did think we had everything worked out when we meet a couple of summers ago. I must also say, although I HAD been skeptical of the CORE program, I am impressed. I was really pleasantly surprised this year when my regular physics classes could do the trigonometry for the force problems. I never expected that and I was able to go beyond what I had intended to do with them. They are really much more open to the process of collaborative learning and problem solving - skills for the 21st Century learner. - Pam

I agree that when a student is misplaced it is both frustrating for the student and the teacher(s) who are trying to help them. I would like the prereqisites to be enforced so this doesn't happen. For example, last year I had a student in Core 2 who was also in Honors Physics. She had no idea that she should have waited a year to take Physics so she could have learned trig beforehand. If there were prerequisites set, this wouldn't have happened and that student wouldn't have to double up on sciences her senior year. The math department has changed it's curriculum so honors students will get trig their freshman or sophomore year and core students will get trig their junior year, but we would like more suggestions on what we can do to help the science department and help our students succeed in both subjects. I'm looking forward to when the math and science departments can meet! -Katie

=October Entry = Success! The math department is currently in the process of revamping RTI services for students in hopes to make them more successful in the classroom. Our goal is for Tier II struggling students to have math everyday and although that isn't totally in place yet we are servicing students needs better this year than over the past two years. In a typical RTI math class the goal is to reteach the prior lesson learned from their regular classroom teacher, pre-teach to the next days lesson and skill building. As for the reteaching and pre-teaching students are being much more successful. Many of the failing students are now obtaining 3's and even 4's on classroom assessments. The math department is very pleased with the results so far and students are building self confidence in themselves. Many of the students have asked if it is possible for them to remain in the RTI course for the full year even if they test out in Dec/Jan.Which is a great indication that they are feeling successful. As for the skill building portion of the class we are using worksheets and suggestions by other teachers as to what the students have for weaknesses. For example Tom Wylie noticed that the freshmen were weak in converting from our system to the metric system, so we practiced converting and how the metric system works. The math department noticed scientific notation was a weakness, so we have been practicing scientific notation and Ken Baker noticed students in his biology class were struggling with long division (by hand), so we have been practicing those skills. I personally have also been using Khan Academy for skill building with my RTI students. Khan Academy is a great website for students to practice skill building. When students register on the site I have them add me as a coach so I can monitor their progress, weak skills, and how much time they are actually spending practicing skills. Students earn badges for becoming proficient on each skill set and they earn energy points that contribute to the class score. Khan Academy and Duane Dorion have been tremendous assets for me and my Tier II RTI/Core 1 math class. I have 16 students enrolled in this course, which is way too many for a Tier II intervention class, but instead of removing students we devised a plan.... The plan is to split the class into two groups of 8 students, Duane takes one group for 40 minutes to do skill building on Khan Academy while I work with the other group on classroom interventions, then we switch. It has been working great! I really appreciate the support that Duane has been able to provide to me and our struggling students. To see our weakest students build confidence in math has been very motivating to me. Believe it or not I look forward to my RTI classes each day!