This year attendance levels are down and we’re hearing from many teachers that the volume of work being turned in by students who do attend is down as well. Over the past month many new schools have started using Knowre Math to help address the challenge of make up work.
In this article we will explore some ways to use Knowre Math for make up work and specific considerations in order to set teachers and students up for success.
Scope of Work
The most important consideration when setting up a plan for students to complete make up work is the scope of work. Students must understand and see specifically what they need to do and by when. People, overall, thrive in situations where expectations are clearly set. When we are able to see or visualize both the beginning and end of a project we are better equipped to tackle it.
Make it clear from the start exactly what students need to do and you will achieve much better outcomes. The organization of this scope of work can look like a series of assignments on Knowre Math with different due dates, a Google sheet with each lesson specified, a printout of a list of the lessons that need to be completed, or any other structure that fits into your student communication platform/process.
No matter how you choose to organize the scope of work, the key elements are:
- What do I need to do?
- By when?
- What is the minimum achievement score I need to get?
I would strongly recommend against providing students with one due date for the entirety of their make up work. Procrastination, especially as many of us continue to work and study from home, is easier than ever to fall into. Set students up for success by grouping the work and assigning it different due dates. This organization will help students pace themselves through the content, rather than waiting till the last minute and cramming it all in.
Accountability Check Points
One of the ways to set students up for success with their make up work is to pre-schedule accountability check points. These short 1:1 meetings are a great time to review progress by pulling up the scope of work and talking together about how far the student has come and what they have left to complete.
In addition to tracking progress to completion, these meetings are a great time to acknowledge students for the work they are doing and also to hear from them about how things are going. Consider asking your student the following questions- Does the pace of work feel too fast, too slow, just right? What are they doing when they are feeling stuck on a problem or lesson?
By opening up a dialogue with students about their learning process you are inviting them to take more ownership over their work. Beyond just a chance to make up missed work and get some credit back, this process helps cultivate independent learning skills which will help support students far beyond this school year.
Grade Minimum
As with most math work, when it comes to work on Knowre Math it is possible for a student to complete a lesson (ie. attempt each of the questions in that lesson 1 time) and have a very low achievement score. It is critical that students not only attempt the work they have missed, but also learn and strengthen their math skills along the way. In order to accomplish this you’ll want to add in an achievement score target into the scope of work shared with students.
A discussion of student’s achievement scores should also be incorporated into your 1:1 check in meetings to help ensure that each student is on track. When setting up the make up work plan with students be sure to clearly establish these expectations and make sure they realize how they will be able to track their lesson progress on their own with the color coding (solid green = correct on your own; outlined in green = correct with support; outlined in orange = incorrect). Students should aim for as many green skill cards as possible and should be encouraged to retry skills in order to improve their outcome. It may also be helpful to let students know that you will be able to see their attempts, but it will be their latest attempt on each skill that will be contributing to their achievement score. That means that even though they may sometimes need a few attempts to get it right, they will be rewarded for their effort and persistence.
If you want help setting up your Knowre Math make up work plan, please don’t hesitate to email us at support@knowre.com. We are here to help!
