Thank you to all who took the time to respond, I tried to thank you all
personally If I missed some one THANK YOU! :-)
Many responses overlap but it makes it clear that there is a consensus:
Pros: I love it. The students love it. My students improved 2 and a half
grade levels last year (according to the STAR math test). It works well
for students who are having difficulty as well as allowing students who
accel to challenge themselves.
Cons: The program takes some getting used to. It is not intuitive. You
would need a fair amount of staff training for full use of the system.
If you get the system, you really need some advice on the classroom
management part. It uses a lot of paper.
The person in charge is the person who is willing to be, so I am in
charge of Accelerated Math for our home school program and I work with
our classroom teachers also. It is ideal if you are teaching several
different instructional levels in one class. I teach one math class of
12 students that range from fourth grade levels to geometry/precalc. It
is nice to use this program to keep everyone where they are suppose to
be.
For use in any larger class I would recommend a computer, scanner, and
printer in each class or pod. Otherwise you are correcting the work by
entering the information into the computer and there is often a bottle
neck at the computer.
I used Accelerated Math two years ago and it was a wonderful program.
It was used as a supplemental program to our regular math curriculum. I
guess the lead math teacher was in charge but basically each of us did
what we wanted. A scantron reader would be best for each room. Now of
course, the teacher needs a computer to be able to see how the student
is doing, print off tests, exercises, etc.
The teacher must print off whatever test or exercise each student needs
to do next - this does take time so be prepared for it. The student then
completes the work, fills out the scantron and then puts the scantron
through the machine for grading. If they do well, they get to move on.
If they don't, they continue where they are until they have mastered
that concept. If they don't yet understand the material, the teacher
should spend some time with them reviewing/instructing.
This program would be best used as a supplement in my opinion. I can
truly say that my students gained so much from it. Just learning how to
bubble correctly was important. They learned very quickly that if they
bubbled incorrectly, their grade suffered and they'd have to redo
exercises/tests. They only made that mistake once. And with so many
standardized tests being required now, it's nice to know that students
have a real appreciation for the skill of bubbling.
One suggestion - get organized early on. I had a folder for each
student that held their scantrons, tests/exercises they were working on
or would be working on. It really helped to keep things orderly.
We are using AR math in our school. We have found it to be extremely
effective. You do need one computer and one scanner per classroom that
is running the program. We are using it in two different ways. Those
students most deficient in math are attending an extra class everyday
where they work with AR math. The other is being used as enrichment in
the regular math classrooms. We find that it really fills the gaps and
holes in a students math skills. The students are working individually
on skills that the program has determined they are in need of through
the STAR Math testing. The entire AR program is overseen by one Title I
teacher that makes sure everyone in the school is using the AR reading
and math effectively. She also runs the AR math class. The class is in
addition to their regular math class. Warning, the program uses a great
deal of paper and ink. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. We are
using a ream per AR math class every few days. You will want a good
"workhorse" printer for the classes that really use the program.
We use AM. When used correctly it works great. It lets the students
work at their own pace to master objectives. You do need a computer and
a GOOD printer in every classroom and it takes a lot of paper. It
prints a different worksheet(s) for every student. It really frees up
the teacher for individual instruction. The computer does all of the
grading and generation of worksheets. I am all for the use of AM.
=
Using AM, students all start out at the same objective. The students
get practice worksheets generated with their name on it. Once they
finish the worksheet and bubble in the answers, it gets scanned and
graded. If they do well on the practice, they are given a new
objective. If they need additional practice, more questions are
generated for them. Once they get through 3 or 4 objectives, it
notifies the teacher that they are ready to test. The test is then
generated for the students. If the student does well, they can move on.
If they do poorly, the teachers is notified of the need to re-teach.
Daily teaching still occurs - teachers would teach the objectives to the
whole class. This program allows for students that are on a more
advanced level or pick up objectives easier to move on and not get
bored. It allows for the slower students to master objectives and catch
up with out falling further behind.
Each teacher has to be responsible for their class. That is why it is
important to have a computer in each classroom. Students are on all
levels and are constantly scanning and teachers need to be able to
monitor their progress. You might want to implement one or two grades
at a time, or all at once and train all teachers at the same time. If
you have someone who really understands the Renaissance program, have
them help others.
Students are placed in a classroom that has a library of appropriate
objectives to the grade/math level.
On each practice assignment the student receives 6 problems for the
objectives that are listed in the assignment. If the student gets five
out of six correct, they can move on to the testing phase. If they do
not get that many correct, they redo the objective on the next practice
that is printed out.
If the student attempts an objective twice without getting it correct,
they are placed in an 'intervine' state. This alerts the teacher that
this student needs more teaching on this objective.
One thing to remember, this program is a great management tool, but
there is NO teaching with it. It will print out the worksheets that
students need to do and keep track of everything, but Ren Learning has a
lot of books that go along with it (At additional cost, of course) for
the teaching part.
The plus of the program is that when students are working on their
level, they are motivated to learn the next steps.
The classroom teacher is in charge of AM. It works in classrooms with
20 or less students. You need 1 computer, card scanner, and printer in
each classroom. The teachers print individual worksheets for each
student. The program works like a book only students have different
questions which has eliminated cheating in our school. I also teach 1
math class and use this program all the time. If you have any other
specific questions I would gladly answer them.
Roberta Z. Arguello
Library Media Specialist
American Nicaraguan School
rarguello3@ans.edu.ni <mailto:rarguello3@ans.edu.ni>
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