Ready / iReady Math Pilot
Teacher and Student Feedback as of March 14
Positives
Teachers:
- Having all the resources at my fingertips, difficulty of questions, individualized skills on iReady
- The students like to use it. They get rewards and it encourages them. I like the on-line component with the book component too. I think it is higher level thinking, which our kids need.
- I love having a teacher manual (book form or digital ) as a guide. I also like that each lesson uses manipulatives. The opportunity to view everything on the screen is a bonus as well! The program gives so much information and choices of activities to choose from. The workbooks are a great resource for the students. They are visually appealing. I think the lessons benefit the students because they have the children share their ideas (with each other ) on how they formulated the answers. Before Iready, the students did not really "talk" about the math problems. The IReady computer portion is different than the past math programs we have used. My kindergarten students LOVE the program. They seriously ask to work on IReady. They like the visuals and the aliens that talk to them. The students earn coins to play games that are timed out but enough to encourage them to continue working to earn more coins.
- I really like having a book component. I think it helps the students to see the information that they're learning in book form. I also like iReady because it's more interactive than Aleks. The students seems to enjoy it much more too.
- My favorite aspects regarding Ready Math /iReady are the fact that the program is aligned with the Indiana standards and I have a book to teach from. I appreciate that the kids' books match my book; and I can project the lessons on the marker board. I love the way the lessons are presented-whole group, guided practice, and independent practice. In addition, the tutorials are engaging and the kids love going through them as a whole group as a springboard for each new lesson. I also enjoy the i-Ready individualized piece and so do my students! Finally, the program is so easy to use and the materials are right at my fingertips. Having RTI built in will be help with scheduling issues and staffing. You can't beat that! It's great! Every time I think I'm ready to push send, I think of another positive. :) I also like that the program has a lot of rigor! There is so much depth to it; and it's going to really help our students learn to communicate with each other verbally and in written format! The teacher's manual is easy to follow, so I think support staff can easily step in and follow the lessons, when needed. The reports are amazing. I have just started to realize all of the information I will be able to take away from the reports when I have a chance to analyze them. They will be very useful for parent/teacher conferences and IEP conferences.
- I really love how engaged I feel with my class while teaching out of Ready Math. I love the conversations my students are starting to have during the lessons. I have really tried to get my students to share even their mistakes and have praised them for their participation. I like how there is a gradual release of responsibility within the lessons. It is not as scary as I first thought...all of the lessons I have taught at this point have started out with the "new" way but have given the "old" way as an option to solve. I also like that the workbook has more material to use if needed. For iReady I do like that my students are able to work completely independently for the most part. This allows me to pull small groups and support as needed.
Pacing Guide/Map
I like the pace of lessons
All materials provided
Materials also provided for small group, RTI, reteaching, etc
Discourse questions
Standards mastery
Diagnostic tests
Students
1st Graders:
- characters are fun
- rewards (games)
- you get stars
- some things are hard and some are easy
- I love everything
- I like everything
- it teaches us stuff
- when we get 100%, Mrs. Sutton gives us stickers
4th Graders:
- it has games after you learn a certain amount of coins and the characters are cool
- I liked the desimals.
- I complete so many lessons.
- I like it because it is on computer and not on paper
- It's more life like than other math programs.
- I like Ready math because i learn from it the book.
- I like Ready Math because just the way they are telling me to do what they want to do.
- i like ready math is that you learn lots of stuff
- I like it because it helps you learn stuff that you do not know.
- i like math because it is a coleg
- Its good to learn some new things in Ready Math to learn.
- I like Ready Math because it helps you inprovde your mind of math.
- The reason I like ready math is because you learn more and more thing at a time. You also get to change you background and person.
- I like ready math because there is movement going on and you don´t have to sit there stair and answer you get to watch a video about it.
- I like Ready Math because its fun and it helps you lean things you do not now.
- I like ready math because you get to learn alot.
- I like I raedy because it is fun to do to it a good math porther
Negatives / Concerns
Teachers
- time to look and plan lessons
- When students come to me next year with no to little prior knowledge of how this conceptual math goes... There is so much to learn about this GREAT big program.
- One of my concerns for kindergarten is the beginning of the year and when to jump into the program. They come to kindergarten at various levels and some not even knowing what a number is! Another, there is so much to this program that I feel lost knowing what to do and not to do! But I think with time this will become easier! There are parts to this program that the teachers will have to learn a new way of teaching math! I hope that all will be receptive to a different way of teaching!
- none
- The only concerns I have after all of the training sessions is that we will have a lack of manipulatives and knowing that the program may be difficult for parents to understand. But we have discussed both of these concerns and I know they will be addressed. :)
- There will be a learning curve for all involved (not necessarily a bad thing).
Students
1st Graders:
- games aren't that often
- it's boring
- don't like having to keep moving bugs back and forth
- sometimes repeats lessons*
- video lessons move slowly
4th Graders:
- none
- I don't get some of the things you want us to learn.
- I'ts teaching me stuff I already know.
- I dont like it because It sometimes makes you do the same lesson.*
- Some of the problems are to easy.
- The reasoon i dont like it is beacuse i dont get some of the things that it has.
- I don't like Ready Math because when you get one wrong they sometimes don't let you try again.
- it is hard
- I don´t like ready math for giving me hard test because they can be very hard.
- it is hard
- Its is subtract the number line that is it to little hard but I don't understand.
- I don't like I Ready Math because the lessons are to long.
- I do not like it because it is a little hard for me and it is hard with multiplication and division.
- I do not like Ready Math because sometimes I do a lesson that I pass and then it makes me re-do them.*
- I do not like Ready Math because it makes you do too much on it and does the same thing over and over again.*
- l don't like ready math because it has a test
- I don't like it I love it because it is kind of hard
*note - Lessons only repeat in iReady when the student doesn't reach a 70% passing score.