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Not all people learn the same way. This is an obvious fact and obstacle that educators have been dealing with since the beginning of classroom learning. We can’t expect children to sit in a classroom, under the same instruction and all progress at the same speed. For hundreds of years the typical education system has labeled some students as being smarter and more capable than the others and some students as being less smart and incapable of learning.

Teachers and personal tutors have been trying to implement ways of broadening instruction to cater to each individual’s learning styles and needs. However, the way our schools are set up does not make this type of teaching and learning practical or possible. The exciting news is that in today’s modern world that is full of ever evolving technology there is now a way to personalize learning for each and every student in the classroom. Here’s where adaptive learning comes in.

What is adaptive learning?

Adaptive learning is a form of online learning that uses technology to customize subject material for each individual student. A company called Knewton has developed a way for an electronic device to actually keep track of how the student is learning based on how long it takes them to answer questions, how quickly they are reading sections of text and even takes into consideration what time of day the student performs better in certain subjects. Based on the information about that particular student, the computer or handheld device will then offer recommendations of what the student should work on next in order to strengthen their understanding of the subject.

How will adaptive learning affect the way we learn?

Adaptive learning allows students to learn at their own pace, with a customized curriculum that caters to their specific strengths and weaknesses.  If the computer can tell that the student is struggling with a certain concept and getting frustrated, then the program will adapt so the student can review other concepts that will refresh their memory, and build their confidence, before moving on to the more difficult concept. Adaptive learning programs, like the one developed by Knewton have developed a way to work with certain companies to turn textbook curriculum into interactive and adaptive learning tools. Knewton plans to expand this system even more to eventually encompass even more educational information available on the Internet.

How will adaptive learning change education?

This type of learning can not replace the need for classrooms and teachers, but it will help to facilitate learning and be a complement to classroom learning.  Adaptive learning focuses on the increase of knowledge and mastering subject material.  Classroom settings and working with teachers and tutors doesn’t merely supply knowledge, these are important factors that help students develop social skills and ways to handle life situations which are arguably just as important as learning the facts.

Knewton has been developing a program that eventually can be used by people all over the world as a tool to provide adaptive learning to anyone with access to the internet.  Based on an article from The Daily Beast, the owner of Knewton predicts that within the next ten years schools will no longer be using paper textbooks and homework assignments, but will do everything online. Knewton has already done a case study with Arizona State University students and the results are remarkable.  Drop out rates have decreased, more students are passing their classes, and the teachers are more able to provide personalized instruction to their students.

Adaptive learning will not only change the way students are learning, but it will also change the way educators teach. Rather than presenting lecture style lessons to the entire class, teachers will be free to help individual students as the others work on their computers or tablets.  It will be interesting to see how schools will receive these new advancements in technology and how they will be incorporated into classrooms around the world.

Thank you to DeSales University for their amazing photo!

Earlier this summer we posted some ideas on our Blog about summer science activities and summer reading activities.  Today’s post will give you some ideas for fun summer math activities to do with your kids while the weather is still nice outside!

Plan an outing that is full of educational summer math activities.

Have your child choose a park or a beach around Vancouver. Have your child figure out how many kilometers away the park is from your house and then calculate how long it will take to get there based on the number of kilometers and the average speed of the car in kilometers per hour.

Things to bring on your outing to facilitate the summer math activities:

• ruler or measuring tape
• notebook and pencil

Summer scavenger hunt

Find plants and flowers that have parts in multiples of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc. For example they could find 2 leaves stuck together, a cluster of 3 berries, a star fish with five legs, or a flower with 6 petals. Next they can find something that is 1 millimeter in length, 5 millimeters, 10 millimeters, 50 millimeters, 100 millimeters.  Finally they can add all those things together to find out how long they would be if all lined up together.  Your child can collect these things and use the notebook and pencil to do calculations and to record their findings by sketching a picture of each item.

Make a picnic for the family

Have your child help pack a picnic basket full of goodies.  They can help make the sandwiches by calculating how many slices of bread and how many slices of meat will be needed for five people.  They can also figure out how much you will need to buy from the store based on how many pieces of bread, meat, cheese come in a package.  They can help measure quantities and make sure there is enough for everyone in the picnic basket.  Bring your picnic along for a nice lunch on your outing at the park.

Summer math activities that pay off!

Starting your own business is a summer math activity that results in making some cash. Summer is a great time when kids have extra time to be creative and explore their potential. Having a summer business doesn’t have to be complicated.  It can be a classic lemonade stand, or another type of stand that sells baked goods or art projects. Older kids can also ask the neighbors if they can mow their lawn to make some money. This is a great way for kids to earn some money and learn how to keep track of their finances.  Use the opportunity to teach your kids how to keep a record of their savings, and deduct their expenses such as:  the lemonade and cups. They can figure out  how much profit they made.  You can even help them choose a desired item or service  that they want to save up for. Then they can figure out how much more money they will need to buy the desired item.

All of these summer math activities are simple, inexpensive and fun, yet they still get your kids thinking and practicing their math skills when they are on vacation.  Turn some of your vacation plans into summer math activities and let us know how they turn out!

Last week’s Blog post explained how making connections is a useful reading comprehension strategy.  This post will describe some other reading comprehension strategies that can be used to improve reading comprehension such as asking questions, visualizing and inferring.

Asking questions: Improve reading comprehension by asking questions

One problem some students have is not being about to understand or recall the information they just read.  Asking questions about the text while reading improves reading comprehension because it causes the reader to stop and consider what they are reading.  If a student is reading and there is something that doesn’t make sense, they should write the question down on a sticky note and place it on the page to ask a teacher or reading tutor later. Students can also write down vocabulary words that they are not familiar with and look them up in the dictionary while they are reading so they are able to gain a better understanding of what they are reading.

Visualizing: Increase reading comprehension by visualizing the text           

A common way that educators test students for reading comprehension is to give students a portion to read and then ask them questions about the text.  If a student has a hard time recalling events from the text, sometimes it helps to practice visualizing. Visualizing helps people to remember just about anything; including people’s names, places and events.  This principle of visualization applies to reading as well.  By asking students to close their eyes and picture everything that is occurring in the text it will help them to be able to recall the events and details from the text.

Inferring: Gain a better understanding of the text by inferring

Writers use foreshadowing to activate inferences and predictions from the reader.  If students are not interested in what they are reading in can be difficult to keep them focused on what is going on in the text. By encouraging students to make inferences about what they are reading they will be helped to stay connected and invested in the text.  Teachers and reading tutors can help draw out a student’s thoughts and considerations of the text by asking them questions like, “what do you think this character meant when they said this”, or “what do you think the character will do next”? These are things that might not be clearly spelled out in the text, but can be inferred by taking the time to consider what is happening. This practice of inferring while reading keeps the reader interested in what they are reading and wanting to read more to find out what happens next.

Practice reading comprehension strategies regularly

By implementing these reading comprehension strategies, students will begin to use these strategies unconsciously. Without the proper reading comprehension skills, reading can be difficult and frustrating.  However, once a student learns how to read using some reading strategies, reading can become an enjoyable experience.  Being able to read and understand the text is exciting and freeing, and it opens the door to unlimited knowledge, entertainment and adventure.

In educational systems throughout the world reading comprehension is emphasized in all levels of education and is a skill that is useful even after completing one’s schooling.  Reading skills are not merely the ability to sound out words and read them with proper pronunciation and intonation. The goal of reading is to be able to comprehend the meaning of the text.

Why is reading comprehension important?

Whether a text is conveying historical facts, telling a funny story, giving a detailed description of how to perform a certain task or presenting reasons why a person should or should not do something, the important thing is to be able to understand what the text is actually saying.  Making connections is a reading comprehension strategy used by educators to help students improve their reading comprehension.

Making connections with the text

One way to improve reading comprehension is to make connections with the text.  There are three types of connections that can be made while reading.  There are personal connections, connections with other books and connections with things in the outside world.

How does making connections improve reading comprehension?

When someone can make a conscious association with something that they have personally experienced, read about or heard about, it becomes easier for them to relate to the text and understand what is happening.  They are also more likely to be interested in the text once they’ve made a connection to something that they already know or are familiar with.

How can connections be made while reading?

A simple way to help children get started making connections is to give them an opportunity to share their connection either out loud or by writing it down.  A teacher or reading tutor might provide students with sticky notes that they can write on and place on the pages in their book.

Here is an example of how a reading tutor might incorporate this into a lesson plan.  They could introduce the concept of making connections by reading a book aloud to the student and pausing after each section to state a personal connection they have with the text.  Then the reading tutor can have the student practice this. When the student reads a page of the book, they should be asked to write something like “this reminds me of when I went on a road trip with my family and I saw…”

Another reading strategy is to make a connection with other texts that were read previously.  Students should be prompted to write something like this on their sticky note: “this reminds me of what I read in another book where…”

Connections can also be made with things that the student has learned about just by living in the world today.  When reading a book about outer space a student might write “this reminds me of something I saw on the news about…”

Further application of this reading strategy

When students are first learning how to read it is important that someone like a teacher, parent or reading tutor demonstrates how to make connections to the text while reading.  By modeling this reading strategy and teaching the students how to use this strategy on their own, students will be able to continue to improve their reading comprehension throughout their school years and for the rest of their lives.

This reading strategy is explained in more detail in the book “Reading with Meaning: Teaching Comprehension in the Primary Grades” by Debbie Miller.