Knowre Blog

Common Skills Gaps for Students in Grades 4 through Algebra 2

Posted by Bara Levitt on 10/27/21 9:34 AM

Each new school year students enter into the classroom with gaps in their prior knowledge. The challenge of how to address those gaps, while simultaneously introducing students to new grade-level standards, is a difficult balancing act.

Many Knowre Math students start the new year off by taking Knowre’s Ready? Check. Go! (RCG) diagnostic. The RCG was created to identify incoming skills gaps by giving students a chance to show what they know on key topics from the previous year (ie. 7th graders take a Ready! Check. Go! focused on 6th grade math skills).

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Topics: Students, Classroom, Formative Assessment, Student Success, Teachers

Teaching Students How to be Reflective Learners

Posted by Bara Levitt on 10/4/21 7:02 PM

I spend a lot of time talking with teachers about data. Data is at the core of much of what we do at Knowre and it is also at the core of how many of our teachers make instructional decisions in their classrooms. 

In most classrooms teachers are the primary collectors and analyzers of data. In a smaller number of classrooms, however, teachers are opening up this process to their students as a way to further engage them in the learning process. 

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Topics: Personalization and Differentiation, Students, Classroom, Formative Assessment, Student Success, Teachers

Common Incoming Skills Gaps for Students in Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra 2

Posted by Bara Levitt on 10/13/20 1:36 PM

As students reach higher levels of math, incoming skill gaps can be particularly challenging since they have compounded over so many years. It can often be difficult to figure out where to begin when the dual tasks of closing skill gaps and teaching new material are on the to-do list. 

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Topics: Back to School, Data, Education Technology, Formative Assessment, Student Success, Math Instruction

Common Incoming Skills Gaps for Students in Grades 6 through Grade 8

Posted by Bara Levitt on 9/30/20 3:09 PM

This article includes common skill gaps that we recommend reviewing with students during the beginning of the school year. The recommended skills shared come out of data collected from Knowre Math’s Ready? Check. Go! diagnostic. This diagnostic is designed to identify skills gaps by giving students a chance to engage with key topics from their prior math course (ie. 6th graders take a Ready! Check. Go! focused on 5th grade math skills). 

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Topics: Back to School, Data, Education Technology, Formative Assessment, Student Success, Math Instruction

Common Incoming Skills Gaps for Students in Grades 2 through Grade 5

Posted by Bara Levitt on 9/30/20 3:03 PM

At the beginning of any new school year there is the expectation that many students will have experienced some learning loss since they were not actively engaging with math learning and practice during the summer break.

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Topics: Back to School, Data, Education Technology, Formative Assessment, Student Success, Math Instruction, Schools

Supporting Asynchronous / Distance / Independent Learning

Posted by David Joo on 3/31/20 12:49 PM

In the immense plethora of emotions and things to deal with during this time, we at Knowre want to help where we can.  

Personalized learning (however you may define it) is a fundamental tenet of what we strive to accomplish through Knowre Math. Our goal is to mirror the one-on-one interaction between a student and a teacher as much as possible. 

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Topics: Personalization and Differentiation, Students, Classroom, Data, Education Technology, Formative Assessment, Student Success, Math Instruction, Teachers, Schools

Everything You Need to Know About the Common Core (CCSS)

Posted by Sam Cressman on 1/3/20 6:31 PM

The Common Core is arguably the largest education initiative in the United States of the last decade. Since its official launch in 2009, very few if any education topics have received as much positive and negative discussion and feedback as the Common Core. 

With such a massive impact on education as a whole, let's unpack the Common Core to better understand its history and present effects as well as envision what both state and national education standards will resemble moving forward.

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Topics: Education Policy, Formative Assessment, Math Instruction, Teachers, Schools

Can Assessments be Celebrations? Reframing to Create Lifelong Learners

Posted by Reba Nelson on 11/27/19 12:24 PM

My instructional decisions as an educator are driven by my goal of helping students grow into lifelong learners.  

I grew up on a farm of over 1,000 cows in central Minnesota with six siblings and two loving parents. My dad and mom encouraged us to try new things, to fail, and to learn from our mistakes. The concept of having a growth mindset has always been their philosophy. I am thankful my parents raised me in a home where trying, failing, learning, and trying again was the norm. 

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Topics: Classroom, Formative Assessment, Teachers