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How can ease of use make your technology solutions more effective and faster? 

As school principals navigate the ever-evolving landscape for technology solutions, learning software, and churning priorities, it is crucial to consider the ease of use of implementation. In this resource, you’ll discover five reasons education leaders should prioritize a seamless and effective solution that can support students and staff quickly.

Top 5 Reasons to Prioritize Ease of Use for Technology Learning

We’re excited to introduce Kerry, Manager of Curriculum Design, Reading Plus.  

DreamBox Learning is not only unique for its ability to support educators and drive student learning.  It’s also unique because our team includes diverse, passionate, and bright individuals who care about transforming the way the world learns.  

For us, it’s important to capture their stories and share what makes them special. We celebrate the people at DreamBox who bring ideas to life, make the impossible possible, and empower their teams to do well to do good.  

Please meet our colleague and friend, Kerry.

The DreamBox Difference: Our Team - Kerry

We are thrilled to introduce our special guest writer, Dr. Kristin Gehsmann. Dr. Gehsmann serves on the DreamBox advisory board, is the recent Director of the Virginia Tech School of Education, and is the author of Teaching Reading and Writing: The Developmental Approach (PreK-8). In this insightful article, Dr. Gehsmann discusses how educators can make the most informed decisions about new science of reading research and provides some wonderful tips and resources for finding peer-reviewed research.

Expert Science of Reading Advice from Dr. Kristin Gehsmann, Ed.D.

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Deepening Elementary Teacher's Content Knowledge in Mathematics

Educational Equity: 6 Ways to Open Opportunity 

Formative Assessment Toolkit

6 Strategies to Help Your Students Become Algebra-Ready

How to Use Data-Driven Instruction to Reach Math Achievement Goals

6 Strategies to Close Math Gaps for ELLs

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<h3>Why Wednesday Episode 5&nbsp;</h3><h2> Why SEL should be a higher priority in math class</h2> “Why don’t I understand this math?” Stress and anxiety can be a common feeling for students when they don’t understand something the teacher is covering in class. Many times, the brain will shift and be unreceptive to the math problem. The stressful thoughts take over and students shut down. It is important for educators to have greater empathy when students are expressing worry and frustration. In this episode, join Dr. Tim Hudson, PhD to discuss the importance of social and emotional learning, as it relates to mathematics.

"Why don’t I understand this math?” Stress and anxiety can be a common feeling for students when they don’t understand something the teacher is covering in class. Many times, the brain will shift and be unreceptive to the math problem. The stressful thoughts take over and students shut down. It is important for educators to have greater empathy when students are expressing worry and frustration. In this episode, join Dr. Tim Hudson, PhD to discuss the importance of social and emotional learning, as it relates to mathematics.

Why Wednesday S1E5: SEL

<div>DreamBox Learning marketing team.</div>

<h2>Ready, set goals, go!</h2>&nbsp;Keep in mind that good habits formed during the Math Challenge can drive perseverance and growth all year long. Here are five ways you can build excitement over the next few months, and keep the momentum going strong throughout the school year—and beyond.Encourage students to complete 5 lessons per week. It’s important to set goals on DreamBox with your students throughout the year, but the Math Challenge is especially great for reinforcing the DreamBox best practice of completing 5 lessons per week.Show each student how they can contribute to class Math Challenge goals. Use the data you’ve collected in DreamBox and start having one-on-one conferences with your kids. Show them how many lessons per week they’ve completed so far this school year and explain how they could be a key contributor during the Math Challenge.Celebrate individual accomplishments as a class. As students start accomplishing some of their personal goals within the context of the team goal, be sure to celebrate their achievements. If you click on Classroom Motivators under the Resources tab in your Insight Dashboard, you’ll find printable Student of Excellence certificates to recognize individual students. You can also award stickers for various milestones or give students shout-outs in front of the class. Shining the spotlight on kids when they achieve a goal can boost their confidence, inspire their peers, and drive greater participation.Share DreamBox progress data with your students. Log on to your Insight Dashboard regularly to look at individual and classroom data and start framing conversations around that. Again, you could share this data in one-on-one sessions, or you could talk about it together as a classroom—maybe in a weekly team huddle! Showing students how DreamBox tracks their progress can help them to feel more invested in their learning. It may also motivate them to track their own progress and encourage them to challenge themselves.Create and display visuals in your (virtual) classroom to showcase the team’s progress. We suggest finding ways to post goal charts and other visuals in your (virtual) classroom to display progress. This is a great way for students to visualize their growth and see how their personal goals align with larger classroom goals. For example, one DreamBox teacher created a Math Challenge racetrack that went around her classroom walls. Each time students completed a certain number of lessons, they got to move the car with their name on it further toward the finish line! It helped keep everybody excited, engaged, and focused on a common goal. If you’re looking for more ideas for tracking progress in your classroom, there’s no shortage of clever charts on Pinterest.If you’re registered for the Math Challenge, check out the private Math Challenge Channel in DreamBox Nation.To log into DreamBox Nation, log into your Insight Dashboard.<ul><li>Go to Resources</li><li>Scroll down and click ‘DreamBox Nation’</li></ul>

2022 Math Challenge

Keep in mind that good habits formed during the Math Challenge can drive perseverance and growth all year long. Here are five ways you can build excitement over the next few months, and keep the momentum going strong throughout the the school year—and beyond.

5 Ways to Get Students Excited About the Math Challenge

<h2>The road to sustained motivation for young math learners</h2>&nbsp;What is the real linchpin in a student’s ability to learn math? Is it family socio-economic status? Maybe family members who model confidence in their own technical capabilities? Is it the resources of early-learning classrooms? How safe kids feel in school? Or does it simply come down to individual IQ?Angela Duckworth­, management consultant turned middle school math teacher in the New York City public schools, has given this question a lot of thought. And she has developed a theory about the core element that undergirds student success in learning mathematics. Here’s a hint: It’s not IQ. She describes what it is in one word: Grit. She discusses her observations, research, and conclusions in<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance"> this compelling TED</a> Talk titled: “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.”As a 7th grade math teacher, she was struck by the reality that IQ wasn’t a determining factor in student success or struggle in math learning. Some of her “smartest kids” gave up more easily, and some of the others were more willing to press through challenges and learned everything they put their minds to. “And that got me thinking,” she says. “The math you learn in 7th grade, yeah it’s hard ––ratios, decimals, the area of a parallelogram. But these concepts aren’t impossible. And I was thoroughly convinced that every one of my students could learn the material if they worked hard and long enough.”But what was the key to sustained effort in students? Angela wanted to gain deeper understanding on the nature of motivation and how it relates to learning success. She says, “In education, the one thing we know how to measure best is IQ. But what if doing well in school, and in life, depends on much more than your ability to learn quickly and easily?” So, she went to graduate school to become a psychologist and delve into this question.Her research took her into many different arenas––from West Point Military Academy, to the National Spelling Bee, to Chicago public schools, to private companies. In each context she wanted to find out who would keep going in rigorous settings, and why. “One characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success,” she says. “And it wasn’t social intelligence. It wasn’t good looks or physical health. And it wasn’t IQ. It was grit.” She defines this as passion, perseverance, and stamina to stay with long-term goals.But how do educators help students build grit, follow through on commitments to their own learning, and stay motivated to keep working even when it’s not so easy? Angela says parents and teachers ask her this every day. She doesn’t know the answer yet. But a groundbreaking idea came her way that could unlock it.“So far the best idea I’ve heard about building grit in kids is something called “Growth Mindset,” she says, referring to a concept developed at Stanford University by Dr. Carol Dweck. It is based on the belief that the ability to learn isn’t fixed. It can change.In her work, Dr. Dweck has had kids read and learn about the human brain. The result? They are fascinated and inspired by the scientific details of how their brain changes as it responds to challenges. Angela explains that they become “much more likely to persevere when they fail––because they don’t believe that failure is a permanent condition.” You can read more <a href="https://www.mindsetworks.com/science/">here</a> in this piece titled “Dr. Dweck’s research into growth mindset changed education forever.”In the course of her dedicated research, Angela Duckworth has uncovered “grit” as a crucial component for successful math learners, above and beyond IQ and social factors. Her standing definition of grit is passion and perseverance for a long-term goal. Through that combination, even reticent students can succeed. And maybe, along the way, even come to love math and discover how it can open up the world. DreamBox is there to help each student find passion for math, and cultivate motivation to keep learning that they can carry for a lifetime.

The road to sustained motivation for young math learners

Grit is Passion + Perseverance

<div>I love building authentic brands that inspire people. For 25 years, I’ve been fortunate to work with technology companies who are leading positive social impact, from healthcare to education. But my greatest role is mom to a middle-schooler who motivates me to do good in the world.</div>

“It is your attitude, more than your aptitude, that will determine your altitude.”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; – Zig Ziglar, motivational author and speakerYou’ve probably heard the above Zig Ziglar quote before or perhaps seen it on a poster. I’ve always liked it because it says success depends more on a willingness to work hard, rather than raw talent. To me, that’s motivational.&nbsp;And that’s what quotes like that are supposed to do: motivate. They make you feel good, yes, but did you know many motivational quotes have their basis in science?&nbsp;It’s true. And the science behind Zig Ziglar’s quote is especially compelling for math success. A <a href="https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2018/01/positive-attitude-toward-math-predicts-math-achievement-in-kids.html">Stanford University study</a> showed that having a positive attitude about math is a strong predictor of which students will perform better, even after accounting for differences in IQ and other factors.&nbsp;Now that may be hard to believe, but keep in mind, there’s a lot about the human brain we are still discovering; for example, the way it actually learns. Our brains continuously analyze, classify, and draw conclusions about the information they receive. We now know learning is less about just memorization and more about applying critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills.&nbsp;So how can parents and teachers help kids develop a better attitude about math?&nbsp;Fortunately, science has answers for that, too. But first, let’s talk a little more about what the Stanford study discovered.&nbsp;A Positive Attitude Toward Math Contributes to Math Success as Much as a High IQI’m greatly simplifying the methodology (you can read the details in the above article), but the study based its conclusions on survey results from hundreds of elementary school-age children and their parents, math level achievement tests, and brain MRIs of some of the children who responded to the survey.&nbsp;What they found is startling: the contribution of a positive attitude toward better math achievement is just as large as having a high IQ. In other words, students who have a strong interest in math and believe they are good at it showed both better memory AND more efficient use of the brain’s problem-solving capabilities.&nbsp;Of course, researchers also cautioned that a positive attitude doesn’t guarantee better math performance; it only makes it more possible.&nbsp; But still, if you could help a child develop a more positive attitude toward math, why wouldn’t you?&nbsp;Parents and Teachers Can Help Their Kids Develop Positive Math MindsetsShort of telling your child or student to like math (which wouldn’t work, anyway), what can you do? Another Stanford researcher has done some interesting work on this. Jo Boaler is a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and has spent years developing what she calls “math mindsets.” She’s one of the leading voices at <a href="http://www.youcubed.org/">www.youcubed.org</a>, a non-profit supported by Stanford University and dedicated to “inspiring math success for all students through growth mindsets and innovative teaching.”&nbsp;YouCubed introduced the idea of positive math mindsets and how to use them in the classroom. Below are three of the seven mindsets YouCubed uses with educators to encourage better teaching methods:·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Everyone can learn math at the highest levels – there’s no such thing as a “math person”. When students believe in themselves, their ability to learn math is limitless.·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mistakes are valuable – this is a hard one for some students to accept, but research shows that when students make mistakes, synapses fire and their brains grow.·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Math class is about learning, not performing – The goal isn’t to get questions right; it’s to learn the thought process and logic that leads to the right answer.&nbsp;The three mindsets above are my favorites, and you can download the full list of math mindsets from <a href="http://www.youcubed.org/wp-content/uploads/Positive-Classroom-Norms2.pdf">YouCubed</a>. I recommend discussing them with your child or student to understand how they are used in the classroom.&nbsp;DreamBox Helps Kids Learn Math and Develop a Positive Math OutlookThe science of learning has driven product development at DreamBox since our beginning. Our mission has always been to lift math scores and math attitudes. By using games, puzzles, and personalized learning that’s tailored to each child, DreamBox motivates students to persist, progress, and achieve. And by making math fun, interesting and creative, DreamBox can help instill that all-important positive math outlook in your child. &nbsp;&nbsp;Parents and Teachers Can Make a Big Difference, TooThe science proves Zig Ziglar is right: attitude, rather than aptitude, determines altitude. When you help your child or student develop a positive math mindset, you’re setting the stage for their improved math learning and performance.&nbsp;If you need some ideas, Jo Boaler has also developed a <a href="https://www.youcubed.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Parent-Night-Handout-vF-1-2.pdf">parent tip sheet</a> outlining six things all learning guardians can do to reinforce a positive math mindset at home and in the classroom.&nbsp; For the next six weeks, focus on one tip each week, while continuing to reinforce previous weeks’ tips. By the time 2020 rolls around, I’ll bet your child will be looking at math in a whole new way!

You’ve probably heard the above Zig Ziglar quote before or perhaps seen it on a poster. I’ve always liked it because it says success depends more on a willingness to work hard, rather than raw talent. To me, that’s motivational.

“Attitude Determines Altitude…and Other Math Mindsets”

Pasadena Independent School District (ISD) is a large urban community that serves more than 56,000 students in 65 schools. Approximately 77.8 percent of the student population is considered economically disadvantaged. Also, the majority of students—some 86 percent—are Hispanic. That means many classrooms are, by necessity, bilingual.Over the last two decades, the district has embraced innovative learning initiatives. With strong community and business support, Pasadena ISD has invested heavily in new facilities and renovations designed to promote smaller learning communities and flexible teaching environments. Three years ago, they began rolling out DreamBox Learning® Math to their 36 elementary schools.We talked to teachers from four different schools and four different grades about their biggest day-to-day challenges, how they use DreamBox in their classrooms, and what advice they might have for fellow teachers. Like most educators, their biggest challenge is time, but they agree finding 10-15 minutes&nbsp;a day for DreamBox is well worth the effort. Here’s how they do it and why they think it’s valuable.Kindergarteners learn by connecting the virtual with the hands-on Ana Santos teaches Kindergarten bilingual at Gardens Elementary. A teaching veteran of 19 years, she uses&nbsp; DreamBox to show her young students how to set and achieve goals from the get go. She says people think little ones are too young to understand certain concepts, but her kids are not only very receptive, but surprisingly tech-savvy—and they really love DreamBox. Pasadena ISD is one of several districts in the Houston area that sustained water and structural damages from Hurricane Harvey last year.That means Ana’s Kindergarteners started the school year with a learning deficit, not only missing the first two weeks of class, but dealing with the aftermath in untold ways.Fortunately, getting them up to speed on DreamBox took no time at all. After the initial group log in and a brief demo, they were up and running fast, creating personal avatars and playing their first lessons. And, in short order, most kids were able to log on independently or with the help of a buddy.She requires every single student, no matter what level they’re at, to spend a minimum of 15 minutes a day on DreamBox as part of their math rotation. Sometimes, when the schedule permits, they’ll do two rotations in a day. And, she checks the DreamBox Dashboard weekly to make sure everyone is on track and to see who needs extra help. Ana says the 15 minutes a day are really paying off, and that everyone is astonished at how well her kids do on their assessments.“I love that they’re making the connection between the manipulatives they’re seeing in DreamBox and what we’re doing physically in the classroom. They’re connecting the virtual with the hands-on—and it’s wonderful.”First graders build confidence one goal at a time Roxanna Salcedo teaches first grade bilingual at Pearl Hall Elementary. Her DreamBox strategy is to use small, incremental wins to build confident and motivated learners.At the beginning of the school year, Roxanna sets a goal for her students to complete five DreamBox lessons per week. Over time, as her students build skills and confidence, she increases their goals. She also promotes friendly competition with other classrooms to see who can complete the most lessons throughout the school year.Roxanna keeps her mathematicians motivated by providing one-on-one support as needed, encouraging them to persevere, and keeping math fun. They get a star on the wall when they meet their goals, and they get to have lunch with the teacher. And, every Friday, they get to visit the Arcade. The Arcade is a learning incentive within DreamBox that lets kids spend the virtual tokens they’ve earned while completing their recommended lessons. It’s another opportunity to make small wins go a long way. Roxanna’s advice to fellow educators? “Make time for DreamBox. You’ll really see the growth in your students.”Third graders are excited to “level up” and become lifelong learners Angie Maldonado teaches third grade bilingual at L.F. Smith Elementary. Her goal is to instill a love of math in her students and help them to become better problem solvers and lifelong learners. She says DreamBox helps her get and keep her kids engaged and motivated.Because each student progresses through DreamBox based on their own selfdriven learning path, some kids may start the third grade performing below grade level. Angie begins the school year by walking students through both the familiar DreamBox K-2 learning environment and the new 3-5 environment.In the new environment, kids can choose from a variety of lessons by clicking on any of the icons around their avatar, and they get to “level up” their avatars with borders of bronze, silver, or gold by completing lessons. Angie says her kids get excited when they see the new environment and it motivates them to want to advance to the next level.She also says she sees a definite correlation between time spent on DreamBox and growth, so she tries to allow her kids the recommended 60-75 minutes a week playing DreamBox. Her students do DreamBox rotations daily. The principal also opens the computer lab for a half an hour before school each day to accommodate students who want to get in extra DreamBox time and may not have a device or Internet access at home. And then, there’s always time on “Fun Fridays” for more DreamBox. Kids have a free period during which they can choose to do anything they want—and more often than not they ask to play DreamBox.“What I like about DreamBox is that the kids can log in and start working at their level. Whether they come to class with gaps in their math learning or they have a solid foundation, DreamBox meets them where they are and allows them to build their skills from there.”Fifth graders close gaps and realize their potential Hector Del Rio teaches fifth grade math bilingual at Fred Roberts Middle School. He’s also a math department team leader and was recently named Pasadena ISD Teacher of the Year. And, while we’re listing accolades, his class just scored the highest in the district on their math STAAR assessments too.Hector works with approximately 90 students daily and says DreamBox is helping to not only fill gaps but build confidence. At the beginning of the school year, he was approached by a student who declared, “Mr. Del Rio, I’m not good in math and I’m not going to pass.”The student came to his fifth-grade class performing at a third-grade level and convinced she was simply incapable of learning math. While Hector coached her through the standard fifth grade curriculum, she was able to use DreamBox to close gaps in those below grade-level topics. By year’s end, the student was proficient in fifth grade math, advancing two complete grade levels—one DreamBox lesson at a time.On average, Hector’s students play DreamBox for a minimum of two 25-minute sessions weekly. They can also opt to use DreamBox during their Technology Time period—and many do. They find the program fun and engaging, and Hector says the more they play the more they learn. “My students are happy with DreamBox. They love it. With previous programs they would get bored and say, ‘Do we have to do it again?’ Not so with DreamBox…and this year we were number 1 in the district for math. So DreamBox really works!”&nbsp;To see the full spotlight, <a href="http://go.dreambox.com/rs/715-ORW-647/images/CS-2018-06-tx-pasadena-independent-school-district.pdf">click here</a>.

Over the last two decades, Pasadena ISD has invested heavily in new facilities and renovations designed to promote smaller learning communities and flexible teaching environments. Three years ago, they began rolling out DreamBox Learning® Math to their 36 elementary schools.

Maximizing Your Most Valuable (and Scarcest) Resource: For Teachers in this Sprawling Texas School District, it’s About Time

The majority of the 5.5 million English language learners in the U.S. public school system speak Spanish as their first language, which makes the capability of teaching math in Spanish, using bilingual teachers or teaching assistants, a high priority. Many of these students may have difficulty learning effectively in English and require specialized or modified instruction, either from their teacher or a Spanish online math program.Here are six strategies to help ELLs succeed in math:<h3>1. Utilize Bilingual Faculty and Support Staff</h3>There is evidence that Spanish-speaking teachers, or ancillary staff who speak Spanish, can help ELLs to build math skills as they build vocabulary in both English and mathematics. “<a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/234707525_The_Inclusive_Classroom_Teaching_Mathematics_and_Science_to_English-Language_Learners._It%27s_Just_Good_Teaching">The Inclusive Classroom, Teaching Mathematics and Science to English-Language Learners</a>” supports the idea that when students use their native language in the classroom to work with their peers or individually, their academic performance as well as English-language development improves. Additionally, skills in content areas like mathematics and social studies, once understood in the first language, are retained when instruction shifts to the second language.<a href="http://www.tsusmell.org/resources/mell-resources.htm">Mathematics for English Language Learners</a> (MELL), a research-to-practice project for ELL educators facilitated by the Texas State University System Education Policy Implementation Center, provides a broad range of resources for teaching math to English Language Learners, including a dictionary of English/Spanish math terms commonly used in middle school.<h3>2. Set High Expectations With A Rigorous Curriculum</h3><a href="http://www.nctm.org/">The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics</a> (NCTM) and U.S. Department of Education researchers Eugene Garcia and René Gonzalez recommend teaching to a rigorous, standards-based curriculum and never lowering expectations for ELLs even though additional time and instruction will likely be required. They also suggest that students are best equipped to meet and exceed math expectations when they are provided with abundant and diverse opportunities for speaking, listening, reading, and writing as their teachers encourage them to take intellectual risks, construct meaning of math concepts, and seek reinterpretations of knowledge within compatible social contexts to make better sense of mathematical ideas.<h3>3. Use Visual Contexts and Manipulatives</h3>Visual math manipulatives provide students with limited English proficiency ways to construct physical models of abstract mathematical ideas. Multiple modalities are effective in promoting critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Virtual manipulatives have the added advantage of enabling new types of engagement and promoting self-directed learning in a highly interactive, digital environment.<h3>4. Implement Personalized, Individualized, and Blended Models</h3>Combining face-to-face instruction with online learning has yielded strong results as an education strategy. A study from the U.S. Department of Education demonstrated that blended learning classes produce statistically better results than their face-to-face, non-hybrid equivalents. When education technology uses pedagogically sound approaches and curriculum materials, it can increase the individualization of each student’s learning experience. Technology support also allows teachers to expand and more strategically use the limited time they have as facilitators of math learning for ELLs. This powerful approach can be leveraged to create the additional time required to meet ELL needs.For schools that are trying to meet the needs of all ELLs with limited time and resources, an investment in technology, particularly adaptive technology, can enable a more personalized blended learning model that meets the needs of all students.<h3>5. Use Assessment That Is Balanced and Dynamic</h3>NCTM suggests that a best practice for ELLs in math is empowering them to demonstrate and explain their understanding in multiple ways. Latino ELLs often have an incomplete grasp of academic math language, so traditional tests aren’t able to provide a complete view of each student’s understanding of math concepts. ELLs commonly know more math than they can demonstrate on traditional assessment instruments.For example, <a href="http://www.colorincolorado.org/research/assessment/">Research has shown</a> that math test items can be linguistically modified to reduce language load without altering the construct being assessed. In a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, linguistic modifications produced an improvement on math tests among ELLs, while English-proficient (EP) scores remained the same.<h3>6. Increase Engagement and Motivation</h3>Making curriculum engaging and accessible to all students is key. One way to improve engagement is to drive greater oral participation for ELLs in math classes. Improved verbal communication in mathematics is not only a way to demonstrate conceptual understanding, it also has the additional benefit of promoting language-learning overall.Using game-like activities, in class as well as online, is another great way to engage ELLs and EPs alike, and can aid in developing problem-solving skills and persistence. The most effective math games reward students for both achievement and effort. This is particularly true when trying to level the playing field for Latino ELLs struggling with language.For more information on six strategies for teaching math to ELLs, be sure to download the white paper, <a href="http://www.dreambox.com/white-papers/six-strategies-to-reach-teach-and-close-math-gaps">Strategies to Close Math Gaps for ELLS</a>,&nbsp;by Dr. Tim Hudson, PhD.<h2>Free Math Activities</h2><figure class="table"><table><thead><tr><th>Grade Level</th><th>Activity</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>K</td><td><a href="https://www.teachervision.com/same-different/printable/71016.html">Match the Monster Game</a></td></tr><tr><td>K</td><td><a href="http://www.kidslearningville.com/addition-of-1-flashcards/">+1 flashcards</a></td></tr><tr><td>K</td><td>PBS Kids interactive on-line videos in Spanish&nbsp;Learn to count with Curious George</td></tr><tr><td>K–1</td><td><a href="http://www.classroomcapers.co.uk/language-counting-school-poster.html">Poster</a>: Learn Counting in Spanish (and 3 other languages)</td></tr><tr><td>1-2</td><td><a href="https://www.teachervision.com/money/quiz/2715.html">Money Magic Online Quiz</a></td></tr><tr><td>K-5</td><td><a href="http://www.ed.gov/espanol/parents/academic/matematicas/index.html">Como ayudar a su hijo con las matemáticas</a>&nbsp;At-home fun math activities in Spanish for parents and kids</td></tr><tr><td>5-8</td><td><a href="http://architectstudio3d.org/AS3d/index.html">Architect Studio 3D</a>&nbsp;Students use math and other skills to design houses and share them with others</td></tr><tr><td>6-8</td><td><a href="http://www.factmonster.com/hispanic-heritage-month/">Fact Monster: Facts about Hispanic Heritage</a>&nbsp;The latest data about the Hispanic/Latino population and economy to use in real-world math problems</td></tr><tr><td>K-8</td><td><a href="https://www.teachervision.com/">TeacherVision</a>&nbsp;Lesson plans and games developed by teachers; dozens of free, downloadable math activities</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>

The majority of the 5.5 million English language learners in the U.S. public school system speak Spanish as their first language, which makes the capability of teaching math in Spanish, using bilingual teachers...

Six Strategies to Help ELLs Succeed in Math & 9 Free Math Activities for K–8 ELLs

Getting more women and girls interested in STEM fields is the unfinished business of the 20th century, according to Hillary Clinton. “We must focus on how we can help women and girls break through ceilings that hold them back,” she said in a recent speech at San Jose University. The good news for girl scientists, engineers and mathematicians: they now have female role models and advocates everywhere from Silicon Valley, to Hollywood, to the White House. These 10 women are rocking careers in STEM and proving that STEM isn’t just a man’s world after all:<h3>1. Chelsea Clinton, Vice Chair, Clinton Foundation</h3>

Like mother, like daughter! The former First Daughter has a mission: make STEM careers cool for girls. Clinton frequently travels around the country to host events aimed at getting girls psyched about closing the STEM gender gap. “We’re going to have more than a million jobs created in STEM fields over the next decade,” Clinton said in a recent interview in Teen Vogue, “and the only way we’re going to fill those jobs with the best and brightest is to not leave a gender behind.”<h3>2. Brittany Wenger, Teen Computer Whiz</h3>

When Brittany Wenger was fifteen, her cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two years later, the girl computer whiz designed an artificial brain to detect signs of this devastating disease that took home first prize in the 2012 <a href="https://www.googlesciencefair.com/en/">Google Science Fair</a>! Today, she is a computer science major at Duke University. Her breast cancer test, which has its own app, is now in beta tests with two cancer research centers.<h3>3. Dr. Jenna Carpenter, Advocate &nbsp;</h3>

Dr. Jenna Carpenter, the&nbsp;Dean for the School of Engineering at <a href="http://www.campbell.edu/engineering/">Campbell University</a> in North Carolina,&nbsp;blows people away with how she&nbsp;encourages&nbsp;girls to study engineering in college! She regularly advises and speaks to schools and businesses about diversity, mentoring, and professional development for women in engineering. Check out Carpenter’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw_9t82qD60">TEDX Talk</a> about how to encourage girls to study math and engineering in college.&nbsp;Girl scientists, engineers and mathematicians now have female role models and advocates everywhere from Silicon Valley, to Hollywood, to the White House.&nbsp;<h3>4. Debbie Sterling, Engineer and Toy Inventor</h3>

<a href="http://www.goldieblox.com/">GoldieBlox</a>, the brainchild of Debbie Sterling, has been called “the lady engineer who hopes to unseat the princesses from their toy-store thrones.” This interactive book series and construction set uses an awesome girl inventor who solves everyday problems—like how to help her dog chase his tail—through building simple machines. The idea came to Sterling as an engineering major at Stanford, where she was struck by the lack of women in her program.<h3>5. Mayim Bialik, Neuroscientist and Actress</h3>

<a href="http://www.mayimbialik.net/">Mayim Bialik</a> doesn’t just play a neuroscientist on “The Big Bang Theory.” She has a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA, taught for several years, wrote a book&nbsp;for parents about the science of hormones, and has given public&nbsp;lectures about the importance of investing in STEM careers and research.&nbsp; “I arrived late to science, actually,” Bialik recently told CNBC. “It wasn’t something I had a natural affinity for, and growing up, I always thought it was for boys.”<h3>6. Dr. Ellen Stofan, Chief Scientist at NASA</h3>

According to this renowned <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/offices/ocs/stofan_bio.html">NASA astrobiologist</a>, we may settling other planets in as little as 10 to 20 years! First stop: Mars. More awesome women in STEM at NASA: Deborah Diaz is NASA’s chief technology officer for IT, and Teresa Vanhooser runs one of NASA’s largest facilities in the U.S. responsible for building rockets. ‘”We are here, we are doing amazing science, and we are the role models for the next generation of STEM girls,” says Stofan.<h3>7. Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!</h3>

She had 14 job offers after graduating in 1999 with a Masters in Computer Science from Stanford University and chose to originally work at Google during a spring break period in which, she told CNN, she made all the decisions she is most proud of. “Those decisions all had two things in common: I always surrounded myself with the smartest people I could find, because they make you think about things harder… And I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow.”<h3>8. Dr. Karen Panetta, Founder of Nerd Girls</h3>

The Tufts University professor of Engineering is known as the “Princess Warrior” of Engineering and Science education. She’s the founder of <a href="http://nerdgirls.com/">Nerd Girls</a>: the global movement which celebrates “smart-girl” individuality in science, technology, engineering and math.<h3>9: Danica McKellar, Mathematician, Actress, Education Advocate</h3>

Who says that math isn’t cool? <a href="http://www.danicamckellar.com/">Danica McKellar</a>, who you may remember from “The Wonder Years” or “The West Wing,” is all about saying loud and proud that she loves math. She’s the author of Kiss my Math, Math Doesn’t Suck, and Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape, all math-focused books for girls. “I would love to inspire the next generation of mathematicians and scientists,” McKellar said in a recent interview with NPR. “But my main goal is to give girls the confidence that comes from feeling smart… knowing that they can handle challenges. So whether it be a difficult math problem or something else, they can say, wow, I’m not sure if I can do that, and then they work at it, they persevere and they overcome it.”<h3>10. NASA’s Datanauts: STEM Women on a Mission</h3>

Molecular biologist Jennifer Lopez is leading<a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3047618/strong-female-lead/how-nasa-broke-the-gender-barrier-in-stem"> NASA</a> in boldly going where no one at the space agency has gone before: to make sense of the vast amount of data it collects through satellites, telescopes, robots, spacecraft and laboratories, among other means. Lopez spearheaded the founding class of “datanauts,” data scientists who will pioneer new insights from the exponentially growing repository of data that includes technical and scientific datasets, records, reports, simulations, videos, images and other information. The best part: all datanauts are women!

<h2>PLUS! 8 Websites to Inspire Girls to Study STEM</h2>1.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.stemwomen.net/">STEM Women</a> Girl Power Factor: This site is chockfull of articles, opinion pieces, and video interviews aimed at “fixing the leaky pipeline” of getting young women into STEM careers. The site and content managers are all women in STEM—and awesome role models. Just one example: Dr. Buddhini Samarasinghe is a molecular biologist working on cancer research, a community moderator for&nbsp;<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/101996609942925099701">Science on Google+</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/101996609942925099701">Advances in Medicine and Biology</a>, and she is a&nbsp;co-curator for&nbsp;<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+sciencesunday/posts">Science Sunday</a>.

2.<a href="http://www.engineergirl.org/">Engineer Girl</a> Girl Power Factor: This eye-popping collection of interviews, articles and contests was designed, in part, by girls into engineering for girls into engineering. There’s currently an advisory board of 135 girls in 28 states that give input to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Engineer Girl is part of an NAE project to bring national attention to the opportunity that engineering represents to all people at any age, but particularly to women and girls.

3.&nbsp;<a href="http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/">Society of Women Engineers</a> Girl Power Factor: This is the place for young women considering careers in STEM to make their dreams come true. Society of Women Engineers&nbsp;magazine keeps women of all ages interested in engineering fields connected. There are opportunities for scholarships, mentoring, and plenty of inspiration for girls studying engineering.

4.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dreambox.com/blog/stemenist.com">Steminist</a> Girl Power Factor:&nbsp;Where else could you find an interview an astrophysics student, career advice from the CEO and Founder of Pink Petro, and the latest tweets from Girls Who Code and Latinas in STEM—all on the same page? Created in 2010 by software developer Ann Hoang, STEMinist has a goal of increasing the visibility of women in Science, Tech, Engineering and Math.

5.<a href="http://www.mathdoesntsuck.com/">Math Doesn’t Suck</a> Girl Power Factor:&nbsp;Actress and math whiz Danica McKeller proves that math is cool! You may know Danica from “The Wonder Years.” She’s also the author of Math Doesn’t Suck, Kiss My Math or Hot X: Algebra Exposed, or Girls Get Curves.

6.&nbsp;<a href="http://girlswhocode.com/">Girls Who Code</a> Girl Power Factor:&nbsp;This site is all about building a sisterhood of girls in grades 6-12 who are all about STEM in general, computer science in specific. Girls Who Code offers a 7-week intensive computer science course at technology companies and universities nationwide, school clubs, and networking opportunities galore.

7.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.millionwomenmentors.org/">Million Women Mentors</a> Girl Power Factor:&nbsp;This inspiring site is all about matching young women in STEM to mentors. MWM has assembled more than 58 partners, 30 sponsors, and 30 state leadership teams that reach more than 30 million girls and women. Over 200,000 pledges to mentor girls and women in STEM have been entered to date!

8.&nbsp;<a href="http://nerdgirls.com/">Nerd Girls</a> Girl Power Factor:&nbsp;We give this website two huge thumbs-up! The mission of Nerd Girl Clubs is “to encourage other girls to change their world through Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, while embracing their feminine power.” The first club was the brain-child of Dr. Karen Panetta, a professor at Tufts University, to empower her female engineering students and challenge the stereotypes and myths about women in engineering. Nerd Girl Clubs nationwide have have conducted outreach events to over 85,000 youth, parents, educators and communities!

Getting more women and girls interested in STEM fields is the unfinished business of the 20th century, according to Hillary Clinton.

Women in STEM who Rock & 8 Cool Websites to Get Girls Psyched About STEM

<div>Before joining DreamBox Learning, Wooley-Wilson was President of Blackboard’s K–12 Group where she led the company’s growth for the virtual and blended online learning market. Prior to Blackboard, she was President of LeapFrog SchoolHouse where she established SchoolHouse as a leader in ed-tech and one of the fastest growing educational software producers in the U.S.; Woolley-Wilson also held leadership positions at <a href="http://collegeboard.com/">collegeboard.com</a>, the interactive division of the College Board, and at Kaplan, the leading test preparation company in the U.S.</div><div>As an ed-tech industry leader, she serves on the boards of several educational organizations including the International Association for K–12 Online Learning (iNACOL), Camelot Education, and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. Locally, she serves on the boards of IslandWood, an environmental learning center that connects children to the outdoors, and Seattle Venture Partners International. Wooley-Wilson has also served as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Technology and Education, and has presented at TEDx Rainier, SXSWedu, and DENT. She was awarded the 2015 Executive Excellence Award in the CEO of the Year category by Seattle Business magazine; she was also on the Forbes “Impact 15” list for being a disruptor of education, and was honored as a “Woman of Influence” by Puget Sound Business Journal for making an impact in the ed-tech industry.</div>

One of the biggest challenges facing K-12 educators today is how to engage young women in subjects that will lead to high-paying careers in science, technology engineering, and mathematics (STEM). According to a recent study, 74 percent of high school girls are interested in STEM subjects, however more than half say that girls their age do not typically consider a career in these fields. Currently, only 25 percent of STEM jobs are filled by females. Meanwhile, jobs in these fields are expected to keep growing into the next decade, with more than 1 million unfilled STEM positions by 2018.

This special report by Jessie Woolley-Wilson addresses how teachers can create a strong foundation for girls to pursue their interest in STEM and overcome barriers, both self-imposed and cultural. You’ll become more aware of the tools for closing the gender gap, including:<h3>Provide Equal Access to STEM Education</h3>There’s no question that providing access to high-quality, engaging STEM education for all students, regardless of gender, race, or economic background, is critical. In fact, President Obama has said that increasing the number of women engaged in STEM fields is critical to our Nation’s ability to compete in the global marketplace. A recent statement from the White House put it this way: “Jump-starting girls’ interest in STEM subjects, boosting the percentage of scientists and engineers who are women…is not just the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do.”<h3>Inspire Girls with Role Models</h3>Research suggests that the presence of female peers and faculty members increases female retention in STEM majors in college. But a new study at the University of Warwick in England shows that early educational experiences have a quantifiable effect on the math and science classes that students choose in college, and eventually the careers they choose and the wages they earn. &nbsp;The good news is that there are a burgeoning number of organizations actively providing STEM role models and mentors for girls.<h3>Integrate the Arts into STEM Education</h3>Girls are typically more interested in the arts and humanities, partially because of societal gender bias. Weaving the arts into STEM education can be a key to sparking all students’ imagination and involvement, and can demonstrate how they can use STEM skills in the areas of design, performing arts, and creative planning in school and in their professional lives. An integrative approach may also help revive the interest that girls already have, but often fail to pursue.<h3>Eliminate Unconscious Teacher Bias and Change the Status Quo</h3>Research points to the influence of teachers’ unconscious bias toward girls and highlights how very important even a small amount of encouragement can be. The Warwick University study suggests that teachers’ biases favoring boys bolster boys’ confidence and achievements in STEM courses and hold girls back from advanced level math and science classes. The solution lies in surfacing these attitudes and providing anti-gender bias training for preservice and in-service teachers.

Download the whitepaper.

One of the biggest challenges facing K-12 educators today is how to engage young women in subjects that will lead to high-paying careers in science, technology engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Closing the STEM Gap for Girls

<h3>Challenge</h3>Equity for all students“We desperately needed a K–8 continuum solution to provide equity for our students, especially in Tier 2 and 3. It’s hard to find a program that would provide the instructional data we needed to make decisions about these students that could also do targeted intervention instruction,” says district RtI coordinator Cindy Matherly.Six years ago, nearly one in five of the 7,500 students in the suburban Jessamine County Schools in central Kentucky qualified for special services. To address this situation, the district administration focused on implementing a Response to Intervention (RtI) plan that identifies struggling students early and accelerates learning for students with tiered levels of intervention and support matched to student needs. Finding the right curricular solution proved to be a challenge for the district.<h3>Solution</h3>A personalized math learning solution“Our goal is to build the stamina of the Tier 2 and 3 students in order to see measurable gains in student learning throughout the year,” remarked Matherly. The willingness to make mistakes, persist, and work through to solutions are a major factor in mathematics proficiency and success. In the fall of the 2014–2015 school year, after thorough evaluation, district administrators adopted DreamBox Learning® Math to create momentum and accelerate math learning, and to act as a key curriculum component to support middle school students in need of remediation and intervention.In West Jessamine middle school, students in need of additional support spend one of their electives in an intervention class that remediates their skills. DreamBox is the primary math curriculum used by students in this class. “Students have the option to complete work from their regular math class; however, most choose to play DreamBox. The topics that are scary or hard for them are achievable in DreamBox because they have the support they need to fill gaps from many grades back,” reported David Nelson, intervention specialist at West Jessamine Middle School.The adaptivity of DreamBox ensures that every student, regardless of whether they are Tier 1, 2, or 3, receives the right level of instruction, at the right time. DreamBox continuously assesses understanding and identifies where students need the most help. Using this data, DreamBox delivers lessons that guide them across those conceptual gaps, no matter how far back those gaps might be in relation to their grade level. “With 32 students in my class, knowing what each student is doing at any given moment is a challenge,” acknowledges Nelson. “The detailed information I have access to about each student’s learning saves me time and enables me to differentiate instruction appropriately.”In middle school, engagement drives learner dedication“This is the first middle school intervention we’ve used that actually respects the age of the students. They never want to stop using it. They use it at home, and are getting themselves up earlier to play DreamBox during Breakfast Club,” added Matherly.This kind of dedication on the students’ part doesn’t happen without engagement. Students who need the kind of support RtI provides have struggled throughout their school careers. The urge to give up can be very quick to appear. DreamBox helps students work through that urge, with deep engagement that fuels persistence and math excitement. “There was instant engagement, instant interest. It is new and exciting for me to see them being so positive about math,” said Nelson.<h3>Results</h3>Experiencing success motivates learnersAs the result of a commitment to proactively address the number of students needing special services by implementing a district-wide RtI program, students with disabilities now make up only 14 percent of the population in Jessamine County Schools—a six percentage point decrease since 2009.Continuing the momentum from previous years, student engagement in DreamBox has translated into learning progress for RtI students. Not only are students attending class more regularly and completing assignments, they are closing math learning gaps. In fewer than four months, middle school students experienced half a grade level of growth within the DreamBox Learning curriculum and are making steady progress toward closing learning gaps.“Some of our eighth graders’ skills start breaking down at multiplication and division. After a couple of months, there was noticeable growth that the students and I could both see.” Nelson simplified what was working: “These are kids who have never been successful. In DreamBox they are seeing success and they are motivated and excited to reach even higher levels.”

In fewer than four months, middle school students experienced half a grade level of growth within the DreamBox Learning curriculum and are making steady progress toward closing learning gaps.

Engagement and Motivation Speed Learning Gains

When compared to overall student enrollment, English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest-growing K-12 segment in the United States today and this trend shows no signs of slowing down. The exponential growth in ELL enrollment is changing the dynamics of today’s elementary school classrooms even in states that had not seen large numbers of ELLs in the past. A growing number of ELLs are being educated in mainstream classrooms by teachers without the training or resources needed to effectively instruct them. Against this backdrop, most ELLs are not meeting academic proficiency standards; especially alarming is their growing achievement gap in mathematics.The numbers and needs of ELLs in the K-12 mainstream classroom are growing, and with them come new challenges for educators. ELLs come to the elementary classroom with varying levels of English language proficiency, varying levels of math proficiency, and a high need for individualized support. Also, because ELLs often lack sufficient academic math language in English, traditional assessment tests offer an incomplete view of their understanding of math concepts. With schools under immense pressure to raise the academic proficiency of ELLs, it has become clear that differentiated elementary math programs are needed to support teachers and address the challenges facing ELLs so they can achieve math proficiency.One way of differentiating instruction is through adaptive math learning programs, which can help ELLs at every level of English language proficiency develop conceptual understanding and procedural fluency. A non-language based solution that is highly visual and accessible to students at any level of English proficiency is especially critical. A program that offers differentiated instruction based on a fine-grained assessment of each student’s comprehension level will ensure ELLs are working at an appropriate level of difficulty for their individual level of proficiency and understanding. A curriculum that promotes independent learning in an engaging and rewarding environment will encourage ELLs to persist, practice, and explore new concepts. Comprehensive progress monitoring and reporting for educators will ensure teachers have detailed information on ELL comprehension and progress to inform instruction and intervention strategies.The use of adaptive and differentiated elementary math programs is especially beneficial to teachers working with ELLs in mainstream classrooms, when used for individualized, independent learning. This is particularly true for states and districts with high enrollment of ELLs and quickly growing ELL enrollments. Utilizing an effective, adaptive elementary math program to supplement classroom instruction can support ELLs and their teachers as they work toward closing the math achievement gap.<h2>What You Will Learn from This White Paper</h2><ul><li>The growing English language learner student population</li><li>Challenges in ELL instruction</li><li>The achievement gap in math</li><li>Why is mathematics difficult for ELLs?<ul><li>Undeveloped second language reading comprehension skills</li><li>Limited mathematics vocabulary</li><li>Difficulty in understanding the complex syntax of mathematics</li><li>Prevalence of word problems</li><li>Background knowledge</li><li>Cultural differences</li></ul></li><li>Addressing the challenge: Ensuring ELLs achieve math proficiency<ul><li>Placement in mainstream classrooms</li><li>Exponential growth</li><li>Doing more with less</li><li>Federal legislation</li><li>Disparate circumstances</li></ul></li><li>Best practices in ELL elementary math instruction<ul><li>Highly visual, hands-on activities and use of visual math manipulatives</li><li>Continuous and dynamic performance assessment</li><li>Adaptive, individualized instruction based on student response, level of comprehension, strategies and right and wrong answers</li><li>Comprehensive progress monitoring and reporting</li><li>Engaging activities, lessons and rewards for time, effort and academic achievement</li></ul></li></ul>

When compared to overall student enrollment, English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest-growing K-12 segment in the United States today and this trend shows no signs of slowing down.

Learning Resources

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Why Wednesday S1E5: SEL

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Grit is Passion + Perseverance

“Attitude Determines Altitude…and Other Math Mindsets”

Maximizing Your Most Valuable (and Scarcest) Resource: For Teachers in this Sprawling Texas School District, it’s About Time

Six Strategies to Help ELLs Succeed in Math & 9 Free Math Activities for K–8 ELLs

Women in STEM who Rock & 8 Cool Websites to Get Girls Psyched About STEM

Closing the STEM Gap for Girls

Engagement and Motivation Speed Learning Gains

Increasing Elementary Math Proficiency for English Language Learners

5 Ways to Get Students Excited About the Math Challenge

Grit is Passion + Perseverance

“Attitude Determines Altitude…and Other Math Mindsets”

Maximizing Your Most Valuable (and Scarcest) Resource: For Teachers in this Sprawling Texas School District, it’s About Time

Six Strategies to Help ELLs Succeed in Math & 9 Free Math Activities for K–8 ELLs

Women in STEM who Rock & 8 Cool Websites to Get Girls Psyched About STEM

Closing the STEM Gap for Girls

Engagement and Motivation Speed Learning Gains

Increasing Elementary Math Proficiency for English Language Learners

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