Students Evaluate Summer School Math

Yesterday I asked students to evaluate our four week Middle School Math Summer Success program which I previously wrote about here and here. One of the biggest challenges of teaching a multi-grade level class is, as you can imagine, meeting the needs of the students.

Background

The makeup of this grade 6-8 class was quite diverse. It included 1) students recommended for summer school by their math teacher, 2) students enrolled in the summer EL program to receive math support, and 3) students who were enrolled by their parents to keep skills fresh.

When a teacher recommends a student for summer school, certain expectations are presumed. When parents enrolls their student, they have certain expectations as well. Given the make-up of the class, I needed to reach rising seventh, eighth, and ninth graders whose mathematical prowess ranged from developing to proficient.

I structured each 90 minute day to include number talks, individual and group tasks, number sense activities, and grade level review. I wanted student feedback on each of these areas plus one recommendation for improvement. Here are the results.

Students’ Evaluation

For the four focus areas students simply placed an “x” on a helpfulness continuum. I gathered the data and compiled it into four separate graphs. I also debriefed with each student individually using the feedback they provided.

Students who did not find number talks helpful already had strong number sense.

The one student who rated tasks less helpful was the most “skilled” student in the group. This student could also be considered the lead learner.

Here again, students who had strong number sense did not find these activities helpful.

One student, a rising 9th grader, felt the grade level practice was extremely helpful. A rising EL 7th grader gave the lowest rating.

It really didn’t surprise me how much students value the grade level practice. For several students in the class, this was exactly what they needed. Also, when working with intervention students, some do not recognize the value of foundational skills because, “I need to know how to do [insert grade level concept] that’s due tomorrow.”

Students’ Recommendations

I love the honest feedback the students provided.

In addition to the EL teacher and me, most days we had 1-2 high school student volunteers working amongst the students.

This feedback is from a rising 8th grader, the lead learner in the class, referring to the thumbs’ up sign when giving wait time during number talks.

Referring to number talks–from a rising 7th grader.

From a rising 9th grader.

I appreciate the students’ suggestions and will take them to heart. It would be lovely to have even more high school volunteer in the classroom facilitate the learning. I had one volunteer, “Annie”, who was exceptional. She knew how to give hints without “giving it away” and gave students a growth mindset pep talk–“I was where you were in middle school and through hard work I’m now in Calc III.”

Overall I’m pleased the students found the class valuable. When I debriefed, I asked the lead learner, “Bradley”, why he enrolled in the class. To paraphrase his response, “I was recommended for reading and that was the first time slot. My mom didn’t want to pick me up right away so she signed me up for the this.”

 

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