The First Grade has started using visual progress trackers known as Project Trees to track their skills on the IXL Math website…. with very good great results so far! Lots of enthusiasm, lots of productivity in the latest lab sessions.
The goal of the Progress Trees is to provide students with Visual Goals so they can stand at the bottom of the “Tree” and think about how many skills they are going to learn… then visually track their progress as they master each skill. A well designed Project Tree leads to concentration, completion, and competence (if the work is meaningful and intelligently designed) by putting children into an Active Learning Zone where they lose track of time and ignore distractions.
A well-designed Project Tree should have the following five design features:
- A Clear Visual Learning Path (a prepared path to excellence: from easy to complex, concrete to abstract– with incremental progression and periodic review)
- Some Choice (order of completion, “Easy 80s” first or right to “Toughest 20”?);
- Clear Real-Time Feedback on Their Progress (children fill in the Trackers with highlighters (First they complete the “Easy 80” then they can move on to another skill and another “Easy 80” or stay put and work on the “Toughest 20” to earn the gold medal.
- A Next-Step Challenge that builds on skills they’ve just learned.
- Meaningful Work that gives students power to change their environment.
Students will play the IXL games in the Kiwanis Early Learning/Music Lab, on their iPads when the cart comes to first grade, on the four in-class iMacs, which together will give them a great deal of time on IXL. They can also play at home however, by visiting Ixl.com/signin/oldtown and
- entering their login (usually their first initial and last name) and
- password (birthdate with “/” between-so March 17, 2005: 3/17/05)
The role of IXL in the Old Town Academy mathematics curriculum is to give students more repetitions than they could ever get with paper and pencil alone; give them instant feedback as they work; and free teachers, aides, and parents to coach children, one-on-one, on the exact skills they need help on–when they need the help!
If you are interested in learning more about IXL you can volunteer to help in the lab AND/OR we will be holding training sessions on mathematics and music in the K-3 Kiwanis Lab in November. Look for those dates!