• About
  • Advertise
  • Bespoke Research
  • Contact
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
No Result
View All Result
Times Of Entrepreneurship
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • Rest of US
  • Global
  • Finance
  • Mentorship
  • Deep Tech
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • Rest of US
  • Global
  • Finance
  • Mentorship
  • Deep Tech
Times Of Entrepreneurship
No Result
View All Result

Focus: How Do We Help Low-Income Kids Keep Their Math Skills?

In this op-ed, ed-tech leaders launch a platform, USchallenge.org, to help parents keep kids engaged in math.

by Jafar Adibi, Jon Corippo, Pam Gildersleeve-Hernandez, Alan November, Mark Otter, Marc Petrie and Amir Zarkesh
August 11, 2020
in Deep Tech
Reading Time: 4min read
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Summer Learning Loss, particularly in mathematics, is a well-documented phenomenon. Research of seasonal patterns in student learning shows that achievement gaps in mathematics between students from high- and low-income groups grow while children are out of school. Middle to high socioeconomic student groups make learning gains over summer recess, while low socioeconomic student groups lose on average one-third of a grade level of skill knowledge.

During this pandemic, students from lower socio-economic groups will be the ones whose academic achievement will be most hurt. The opportunity gap providing equivalent access to technology tools, broadband access and in-home support for instruction will equate to an even greater disparity thus supporting the continued threat to systemic generational poverty. Education leaders estimate that two academic school years will be needed to make up the learning loss from this extended summer recess, particularly for low socioeconomic student groups.

How to Cope with A Loss We Can’t Afford

In response to school closures, there has been a boom in the advertising of remote learning resources. But the sheer volume of resources is overwhelming to both parents and teachers. Structure, pacing, and guidance are the foundation to the successful implementation of any learning platforms and resources to ensure that students can learn effectively.

To this end, a coalition of EdTech platforms, educational content creators and professional development organizations have come together to help revitalize the development of math skills this school year with the U.S. Challenge. The U.S. Challenge is a free 12-week online gamified program that paces 1st-8th grade students through the common-core standards math skills development from May to August.

The goal of the U.S. Challenge is to boost student math achievement in low socioeconomic groups one-half to three-fourths of a grade level as predicted by research and prior results using the Polyup platform. To maximize accessibility and connectivity, this program will be optimized for any web browser and for mobile devices. Additionally, students and classrooms that participate in the challenge will be eligible for different prizes with education-themed winnings.

The U.S. Challenge is based on the Polyup platform, a 3D math playground where students can tinker with expressions, play with shapes and build simulations—all for free. Students, teachers, and organizations have the ability to create their own activities on Polyup; for example, Stanford’s youcubed has already created custom activities in this environment and is running their own challenge based on the activities they created.

CUE, an education non-profit serving the professional learning needs of  more than 50,000 teachers and administrators in California and Nevada, is helping create activities for the U.S. Challenge. This new content links Common Core Standards for grades one through eight with new material each week to pace students through math concepts for their grade level. Computational Thinking Alliance will analyze fully anonymized data to measure the Challenge’s impact on student math skill development and prepare a report for Fall 2020. 

Khan Academy videos have been incorporated into these activities so that students can learn topics before applying them in the interactive playground. By providing a wide variety of activities and the chance for students to build and share the activities they have created, the U.S. Challenge will be an equitable and accessible solution for students at all levels.

There is No Learning Without Teachers and Parents

Teachers and parents are critical to the success of any education program’s success. AVID, the largest teacher professional development organization in the U.S., trains more than 85,000 teachers annually. They launched the AVID Poly Challenge to prepare their teachers for the U.S. Challenge. AVID Senior Learning Designer, Doug Ferguson, shared, “We’re committed to doing all that we can to close the opportunity gap for all students.  This mission takes on even more importance and urgency during these challenging times, which means providing as many opportunities as possible for students, teachers, and schools.” Participate is planning weekly live broadcasts to coach parents on encouraging and guiding their children through the 12-week-long event.

The U.S. Challenge tackles math and computer science for grades one through eight. It is one of the only solutions with a real plan to pace students through educational content that will meet them where they are at in their skill development and allow for students to be self-motivated to learn from home. With an elegant blend of pedagogy and educational technology, the U.S. Challenge represents a powerful collaborative effort to address equity and academic excellence during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Most exciting, is the opportunity to replace a sense of foreboding about “doing arithmetic” with a playful joy of creating with mathematics. Imagine.

Tags: CUENovember LearningParticipate (Education)PolyupTalkdesk
Jafar Adibi, Jon Corippo, Pam Gildersleeve-Hernandez, Alan November, Mark Otter, Marc Petrie and Amir Zarkesh

Jafar Adibi, Jon Corippo, Pam Gildersleeve-Hernandez, Alan November, Mark Otter, Marc Petrie and Amir Zarkesh

Related Posts

Mental Health App Cress Health Finds Partners In Kenya, Beirut, U.S. and Liberia To Make A Fast Impact

Mental Health App Cress Health Finds Partners In Kenya, Beirut, U.S. and Liberia To Make A Fast Impact

by Shirly Piperno
January 20, 2021
0

Cress Health co-founders Justin Kim, left, and Michael Lai. For our Startup Spotlights, Times of Entrepreneurship scouted the most successful...

Top Scientists’ Wish Lists: Human Tissue Replication, Recyclable Face Masks, Rapid-Manufacture Ventilator

Top Scientists’ Wish Lists: Human Tissue Replication, Recyclable Face Masks, Rapid-Manufacture Ventilator

by Skyler Rossi
January 18, 2021
0

Regina Dugan When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into space in 1957, the United States was taken by surprise. The...

The Great, Predictable Vaccine Logjam

The Great, Predictable Vaccine Logjam

by Skyler Rossi
January 15, 2021
0

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said yesterday at a Schmidt Futures forum...

Apollo Agriculture’s Growth During The Pandemic Is A Sign of AgTech Resilience

Apollo Agriculture’s Growth During The Pandemic Is A Sign of AgTech Resilience

by Shirly Piperno
January 13, 2021
0

Apollo Agriculture's team includes 120 people. For our Startup Spotlights, Times of Entrepreneurship scouted the most successful startups that spun...

Trust Turns Out To Be A Key Ingredient In Vaccine Campaigns

Trust Turns Out To Be A Key Ingredient In Vaccine Campaigns

by Skyler Rossi
January 14, 2021
0

Ana Matiella Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez livestreamed his first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on social media during...

Weekly newsletter: More Wins For Democrats, 2020’S Biggest Funding Rounds, Miami Manifesto, PPP Access

Supply Change Capital Focuses On A Tipping Point: 2045

by Ellen Chang
January 12, 2021
0

Noramay Cadena Supply Change CapitalChicago and Los Angeles What it is: Founded in August 2020, Supply Change Capital is a pre-seed and seed...

Subscribe to Times of E’s Free Weekly Newsletter

Be part of the story. It’s a changing, socially conscious, entrepreneurial world.

Popular

  • No More ‘Diversity Theater’: New Class Of LatinX Venture Capitalists Launches Funds

    No More ‘Diversity Theater’: New Class Of LatinX Venture Capitalists Launches Funds

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Top 20 U.S. University Entrepreneurship Competitions

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Insight Into The Top 20 University Entrepreneurship Competitions

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Friday Roundup: Miami Uprising, Schmidt Futures Call For Pitches, New Tech Hub In Ottawa

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Apollo Agriculture’s Growth During The Pandemic Is A Sign of AgTech Resilience

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Recent

Mental Health App Cress Health Finds Partners In Kenya, Beirut, U.S. and Liberia To Make A Fast Impact

Mental Health App Cress Health Finds Partners In Kenya, Beirut, U.S. and Liberia To Make A Fast Impact

January 20, 2021
Top Scientists’ Wish Lists: Human Tissue Replication, Recyclable Face Masks, Rapid-Manufacture Ventilator

Top Scientists’ Wish Lists: Human Tissue Replication, Recyclable Face Masks, Rapid-Manufacture Ventilator

January 18, 2021
Friday Roundup: Miami Uprising, Schmidt Futures Call For Pitches, New Tech Hub In Ottawa

Friday Roundup: Miami Uprising, Schmidt Futures Call For Pitches, New Tech Hub In Ottawa

January 15, 2021

Recommended

  • Health
  • Climate
  • Deep Tech
  • Finance
  • Education
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • Mentorship
A Pakistani Entrepreneur’s Insight Led To An Untapped Market Of 780 Million

A Pakistani Entrepreneur’s Insight Led To An Untapped Market Of 780 Million

2 years ago
How To Get a Job In Venture Capital

How To Get a Job In Venture Capital

2 years ago
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Bespoke Research
  • Contact

© 2020 Mondial Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 
Facebook
Twitter
Linkedin
No Result
View All Result
  • Women Entrepreneurs
  • Rest of US
  • Global
  • Finance
  • Mentorship
  • Deep Tech

© 2020 Mondial Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.