Individualized Learning

Innovative Math Instruction

By on May 8th, 2015

MJ Math blog
More than ever before, middle school math students are being asked to perform at a higher rate in class and on assessments.

Students are learning higher-level standards and being evaluated in new ways with computer-based testing and interactive tools.

New standards expect students to be able to: make sense of problems and persevere in solving them, reason abstractly and quantitatively, construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others, model with mathematics, use appropriate tools strategically, look for and make use of structure, and look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. Continue reading


You Never Know Who You’re Teaching

By on May 28th, 2014

inspirationFor the first time, my wife and I built a house from the ground up. For those who have never done it, it can be a very daunting experience. What you are doing is looking at the potential of what the house should look like instead of knowing what it actually looks like. You start off with a plan and as things arise, the plan can change. In addition to the building itself, you are also choosing the area that is best for your family. There is no guarantee that area will continue to be safe, have good schools, etc. five or 10 years down the road. Essentially, you are making a gamble to reside in a specific house in a specific area.

All of this got me thinking about how similar it is to teaching. Every student who walks into our classrooms (or who logs in for some of us) has the potential to be anyone he/she wants to be. As educators, we have the ability to make a positive impact on our students’ lives that will benefit them for years to come. Continue reading


For Indecisive Ice Cream Eaters

By on May 20th, 2014

ice creamWhile reading an article about a subject that is near and dear to my heart (ice cream!), I discovered that Ben and Jerry have done it again. They have truly revolutionized the ice cream eating experience. Their new product, Cores, features a column of goodness running right down the center of two different types of ice cream. How amazing is that?! It’s true bliss for indecisive ice cream eaters around the world. You get two types of ice cream, along with an amazing core of ice-cream-topping paradise. Continue reading


If You’re an Introvert, Yell “I”!

By on April 30th, 2014

personalitytypes
“I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” – Albert Einstein

Educators have been using the Myers-Briggs Type Indictor (MBTI) for years to identify the personality types and learning styles inside their classrooms and to meet the diverse needs of their students. A student’s interests and way of learning directly determines how he/she will see and make sense of the world. If a teacher and a student are both aware of their own unique learning styles, communication and learning will be positively impacted.

Teachers who understand the different personality types and learning styles in their classroom can approach the same lesson in multiple ways to reach multiple students capable of multiple intelligences. Continue reading


The Promise of Prescription in Education

By on July 8th, 2013

Prescriptive LearningI see many requests from school districts looking to find the magic pill to make learning tailored to the student. Prescription of learning tends to be a common first step that schools are willing to make into the world of personalized learning environments. In prescriptive learning, a path through the learning content is prescribed for each learner based on a criterion-reference pre-test, and sometimes performance on a post-test. This is a common answer to remediating students who need to make up credits, exempting items they know and remediating on items where mastery has not been gained. Continue reading