Formative Loop 2019- Math Skills for 4th Grade at TES

Moderation state
funded
Grant Applicant
Jamie Maitia
School Site
Truckee Elementary
Grant Category
Mathematics & Science
Grant Date
2019-08-01T12:00:00
Description

Formative Loop is a daily math practice program for students. It covers all of the basic skills related to the state standards that students need for success at each grade level.  For example, at fourth grade the students will start with a review of addition and subtraction, then move onto multiplication and division. Once those skills are mastered the program moves onto place value, rounding, fractions, decimals, multiples, factors, angles, area, perimeter, and more.  The program combines paper-pencil practice for the students with an online grading and management system for teachers.

How it works: The program automatically generates a skill sheet for each student based on their grade level. Then, the students complete the paper-pencil skill sheet. This can be done daily, weekly, or at any pace preferred by the teacher. Once that is completed the teacher goes online where the answer key for each student automatically comes up, and each sheet can be easily and quickly graded. The teacher then clicks whether the student passed, needs to retry, or is absent. After grading, in one click, the system creates the next set of exercises based on how the students performed, homework for those that need to practice, and any reward certificates earned.

There are many key features of the program. Skills can be skipped or completed in the order preferred by the teacher. Students work at their own pace, so everyone is working at the level where they need to practice. Students can also be placed in a lower or higher grade level than their class if they need more differentiation. Students get to work with pencil and paper, while the teacher gets to grade and manage the program online with easy access. The program is much easier to manage than traditional daily/weekly math practice. If students show mastery of a set of skills on the first practice page, they can skip ahead to the next set of skills. For example, if the student passes the mixed multiplication page on the first try, they can skip ahead to division. If they don’t pass the mixed multiplication page on the first try, they will go to the multiply by 1s, then 2s, etc. Then they will get another chance to pass the mixed multiplication page before moving onto division.

Benefits of Program

The Formative Loop program is designed to supplement our current math curriculum and not be used as a replacement. The math curriculum we use does not have an element that helps students practice all of the basic skills needed at each grade level. Most students need basic daily practice of these skills so that they can successfully use all of these skills in larger more complex problems, which are often the style of problems found in our math curriculum. All students will benefit from this program regardless of their ability level. Because the program works at the pace of each individual student, and students in one class can be placed in different grade levels it is ideal for every student. Students that have already mastered some skills can skip those sections, while working at a slower pace through the sections where they need more practice. Even students that have an IEP and are working several grade levels below their peers can still feel like they are a part of the group because they can be placed on a different grade level set of skills (for example: a fourth grader can be placed on first grade skills). The program also automatically prints reward certificates when students pass a set of skills and the students get points for completing and passing skill sheets. This makes it fun for the students, and they have an easy way to be proud of their achievement. This also makes it easy for a teacher to set up an incentive reward program for students as they work through the skills.

Success of Program

I have been using this program in my class since October of this school year. I have seen an improvement of the basic math skills of my students since this time. They have been practicing their skills and implementing that knowledge when they work with our math curriculum. Having more confidence and success with their basic math skills has helped improved their ability to complex word problems and more complex problems.  The students get excited to see the results of their test and they are all very supportive of one another. The homework pages that print out for students who need to retry a skill are very helpful and an easy way for me to make sure they are practicing. When a student completes the practice page they pass the skill on the next try 90% of the time. This is a much greater success rate than I saw in the past with the multiplication practice pages I used in the past. This program is research based and there have been studies conducted that prove the success of the program.

Implementation

The program will be implemented in all of the fourth grade classrooms next year. Each of the teachers will set up the program for their students and run the program in a way that suits the dynamics of each classroom. As a grade level team, we will monitor the success and growth of our students. We will share information and discuss ways to keep improving the success of our students with this program. This program will be used to supplement our regular math curriculum.

Can you share this grant with your grade level or subject team?

This grant will be shared with the fourth grade team and all students in the fourth grade.

Sustainability
This grant is for a subscription for the 2019-2020 school year. If the program continues to be successful we will look into ways to fund the program for the following school year, and we will look at the possibility of expanding the program to other grade levels.
Amount Funded
$1557.00
Individual Budget Items(s)
$665 - Subscription for 95 students
Budget Notes

The subscription is $7 per student. I estimated a high number of 95 students for next school year. The actual price will be based on the enrollment next school year, but should not exceed the $665 amount listed above. 

Shipping
$0.00
Taxes
$0.00
Other funding sources

There are no other funding sources for this program at this time. 

Supporting Links
Formative Loop Website with videos, research, and reviews
Notes

Please let me know if there are any questions about this program. I have been using it for most of the year and would be happy to provide student examples and show how the program currently work with my class. Thank you.