Greetings Families,
I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Last week was a good first week and I'm looking forward to seeing your child tomorrow.
I want to take this opportunity to introduce you to one of the ways I'm hoping to help students grow in math so that they are capable of performing well and better prepared for fifth-grade and beyond. Along with the Singapore curriculum, this year 4B will be utilizing Khan Academy to help students review, identify student specific deficiencies, and to allow more advanced students to progress beyond the limits of the Singapore curriculum.
Why I Chose to Use Khan Academy
My intended use of Khan Academy is not for it to serve as the primary means of math instruction. Instead, it will function as a tool to help students review content in which they are deficient. However, some students who perform above proficient might enjoy the challenge of learning new material independently through the videos provided.
Another helpful function of Khan Academy is that is can help identify deficiencies in student learning. For example, the Singapore Curriculum starts with certain expectations of students. They should know certain things by the time they make it to fourth grade. However, though a student may know most of the things expected of them, they may not have learned something or, even worse, learned something incorrectly. It can often be difficult for me as a teacher using the Singapore assessments to identify those deficiencies in student learning. This can lead to heart ache for me, you, and the student. Thus, one of my hopes for Khan Academy this year is that its programming will be able to identify deficiencies in student mastery from previous years and support their growth in those areas.
A part of the prior comment regarding student deficiencies, it is also helpful to note that not all students are the same. Not all students have the same deficiencies. Not all students work at the same pace. Khan Academy will provide individualized support for students based on their own needs. Thus, Student A might be fine with addition but struggle with multiplication. Student B might be fine with multiplication but struggle with subtraction. Student C might know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide but not be able to discern how to use them in word problems. In the traditional group setting model that is used in most other classrooms, all of these students might be put together in one group. Thus, instead of each student working primarily on what they need to work on, they work across all of the areas getting less focused attention on their needs. And potentially worse, their deficiency may not even be addressed.
Time for Me to Show Some Humility
Now, up to this point, I've written in such a fashion that it makes my decision to use Khan Academy a no-brainer. That is because I think it is the best option. However, there are some potential setbacks. That is why your child and his or her peers are sort of guinea pigs for something that could be a great success or a failure. One potential issue could be that students who are less motivated will not do as much practice. Another potential issue is that students might not be able to perform a certain task despite the video lesson. Other students might just misbehave in the less structured environment since they are accustomed to a teacher standing at the front of a classroom teaching or a parent guiding the instruction. Thus, I ask for your patience as we try this new learning tool in our classroom. This will be very different for them because our classical model does not make large uses of technology.
A Thank You
I also want to thank those who offered to come in to be math tutors. I changed the job title from math group leader to tutor because what you (if you volunteered) will be doing is more tutoring than leading. What I imagine is a student being asked to do a problem and he or she not being able to perform the task. Even after watching the video, the student may not understand why he or she is getting the wrong answer. That will be when math tutors provide the support the child needs. The math tutor will also be a helpful resource to me in helping promote student engagement in their own learning, as compared to looking at their neighbor's computer and talking.
Student Login Information: Two Reasons Why I'm Providing It to You
Finally, one thing I will provide each student with is his or her individualized login information to take home. The password for every student is the same: chargers. There are two reasons why I'm providing you with this information. First, some students may be willing or desiring to use Khan Academy at home. This is certainly something I will not object to. The way the program is setup, there are rewards for progress. Thus, wanting the game-like rewards (earning badges, improving the avatar) may cause students to want to use Khan Academy when homework is light or over the weekend. I also wouldn't be disappointed if you asked them to use it at home, though this is not an expecation. Second, I want you to be able to log into their account to monitor their growth, though this isn't expected of you. After students have used it for a quarter or so, you might be surprised by their growth or lack of growth. The way the profile is set up, you can see which strands of information they are performing well in and in which they are struggling. This will give you more ownership and control over your child's learning, which I think is a great thing.
Conclusion
I'm sure there are many more things that could be said regarding your child's use of Khan Academy, but this email is already longer than I expected. If issues or concerns arise throughout the year, I will be sure to communicate them to you. If you see something happening or if your child makes comments that would be impactful to our use of Khan Academy, positive or negative, please let me know. I want to do whatever is best for your child's learning. At this point, I think Khan Academy is one part of that puzzle. If I'm wrong, I want to change it as quickly as possible.
Thank you for your support.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren
I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Last week was a good first week and I'm looking forward to seeing your child tomorrow.
Khan Academy
I want to take this opportunity to introduce you to one of the ways I'm hoping to help students grow in math so that they are capable of performing well and better prepared for fifth-grade and beyond. Along with the Singapore curriculum, this year 4B will be utilizing Khan Academy to help students review, identify student specific deficiencies, and to allow more advanced students to progress beyond the limits of the Singapore curriculum.
Why I Chose to Use Khan Academy
My intended use of Khan Academy is not for it to serve as the primary means of math instruction. Instead, it will function as a tool to help students review content in which they are deficient. However, some students who perform above proficient might enjoy the challenge of learning new material independently through the videos provided.
Another helpful function of Khan Academy is that is can help identify deficiencies in student learning. For example, the Singapore Curriculum starts with certain expectations of students. They should know certain things by the time they make it to fourth grade. However, though a student may know most of the things expected of them, they may not have learned something or, even worse, learned something incorrectly. It can often be difficult for me as a teacher using the Singapore assessments to identify those deficiencies in student learning. This can lead to heart ache for me, you, and the student. Thus, one of my hopes for Khan Academy this year is that its programming will be able to identify deficiencies in student mastery from previous years and support their growth in those areas.
A part of the prior comment regarding student deficiencies, it is also helpful to note that not all students are the same. Not all students have the same deficiencies. Not all students work at the same pace. Khan Academy will provide individualized support for students based on their own needs. Thus, Student A might be fine with addition but struggle with multiplication. Student B might be fine with multiplication but struggle with subtraction. Student C might know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide but not be able to discern how to use them in word problems. In the traditional group setting model that is used in most other classrooms, all of these students might be put together in one group. Thus, instead of each student working primarily on what they need to work on, they work across all of the areas getting less focused attention on their needs. And potentially worse, their deficiency may not even be addressed.
Time for Me to Show Some Humility
Now, up to this point, I've written in such a fashion that it makes my decision to use Khan Academy a no-brainer. That is because I think it is the best option. However, there are some potential setbacks. That is why your child and his or her peers are sort of guinea pigs for something that could be a great success or a failure. One potential issue could be that students who are less motivated will not do as much practice. Another potential issue is that students might not be able to perform a certain task despite the video lesson. Other students might just misbehave in the less structured environment since they are accustomed to a teacher standing at the front of a classroom teaching or a parent guiding the instruction. Thus, I ask for your patience as we try this new learning tool in our classroom. This will be very different for them because our classical model does not make large uses of technology.
A Thank You
I also want to thank those who offered to come in to be math tutors. I changed the job title from math group leader to tutor because what you (if you volunteered) will be doing is more tutoring than leading. What I imagine is a student being asked to do a problem and he or she not being able to perform the task. Even after watching the video, the student may not understand why he or she is getting the wrong answer. That will be when math tutors provide the support the child needs. The math tutor will also be a helpful resource to me in helping promote student engagement in their own learning, as compared to looking at their neighbor's computer and talking.
Student Login Information: Two Reasons Why I'm Providing It to You
Finally, one thing I will provide each student with is his or her individualized login information to take home. The password for every student is the same: chargers. There are two reasons why I'm providing you with this information. First, some students may be willing or desiring to use Khan Academy at home. This is certainly something I will not object to. The way the program is setup, there are rewards for progress. Thus, wanting the game-like rewards (earning badges, improving the avatar) may cause students to want to use Khan Academy when homework is light or over the weekend. I also wouldn't be disappointed if you asked them to use it at home, though this is not an expecation. Second, I want you to be able to log into their account to monitor their growth, though this isn't expected of you. After students have used it for a quarter or so, you might be surprised by their growth or lack of growth. The way the profile is set up, you can see which strands of information they are performing well in and in which they are struggling. This will give you more ownership and control over your child's learning, which I think is a great thing.
Conclusion
I'm sure there are many more things that could be said regarding your child's use of Khan Academy, but this email is already longer than I expected. If issues or concerns arise throughout the year, I will be sure to communicate them to you. If you see something happening or if your child makes comments that would be impactful to our use of Khan Academy, positive or negative, please let me know. I want to do whatever is best for your child's learning. At this point, I think Khan Academy is one part of that puzzle. If I'm wrong, I want to change it as quickly as possible.
Thank you for your support.
Best,
Michael Naaktgeboren