Can tutoring close emergent math gaps as early as elementary school?
Teaching math at Bricolage is an incredibly complex process. When a student has gaps in his math knowledge, his teacher must first assess him comprehensively, identify his skill gaps, find the sources of those gaps (is this a misunderstanding from the current grade level? Is it a misconception on a foundational skill from prior years? Does this student have a disability that impedes him accessing this content in the first place?), then intervene with a strategy that uniquely motivates that student to persevere through the identified challenge, before finally re-assessing that student to determine growth.
Woah! That’s a tough sentence. And a tougher challenge. In classrooms of 26 students, all bearing different challenges, gaps and motivations, this was an overwhelming task for the data-driven Bricolage instructors.
Implementation
Bricolage introduced Zeal to all 1st through 3rd grade students January 2017, with the goal of students spending an hour per week on Zeal. Bricolage teachers implemented Zeal in a specialized “learning lab” environment where students from each grade level would rotate through using Zeal in mixed grade level groups of 15–20 students. Then they would return to their dedicated math blocks for further formative assessment and reteaching.
Students received math coaching on a variety of skills with Zeal — at grade level, on prerequisite skills nested underneath the grade level content, and, as they progress, above grade level. With the ability to watch the coaching sessions (which are all recorded in Zeal), teachers tracked what Zeal coaches were supporting their students with and addressed enduring misunderstandings in their math blocks.
Impact
Over the course of Bricolage’s 3-month pilot, Bricolage teachers quickly inspired their students to a learning trend of 1 new skill mastered per student hour and above. By the end of March 2017, Bricolage students had mastered 7.5 new standards on average, or an extra ⅓ year NWEA growth.
By augmenting teacher capacity with a strong tool for filling gaps in students’ knowledge, Zeal allows Bricolage teachers to spend more time focused on grade-level standards and less time differentiating or tutoring themselves. Zeal assistants have reduced the overwhelming amount of differentiated instruction required to deliver excellent education for all.
