What Does Personalized Learning in Math Look Like?

What Does Personalized Learning in Math Look Like? 
-Ms. Lynsey Fleck, Instructional Coach 

Personalized Learning in Math
​In our last blog, we talked about what personalized learning is and what it looks like in ELA.  This week we are spotlighting the personalized learning approach that MELA uses in math.  Math instruction at MELA includes:

Individualized Goal-Setting
With the support of an Instructional Coach, teachers look at where each student is currently performing in each of the strands in math and use that information to set trimester growth goals.  Goals are set with students and shared with families, as is progress toward those goals.  In addition, goals are adjusted as needed each trimester based on student participation, progress, and growth.  

Small Group Instruction
Small group instruction is the place where students work toward achieving their math goals at MELA.  Teachers, with the support of an Instructional Coach, use student math data and observation to plan instruction for these groups.  Small group math instruction happens for all MELA students every day to provide many opportunities to practice and apply skills.  This results in increased rates of growth in mathematics for all students.

Responsive, Rigorous Curriculum
MELA’s math curriculum is consistent, rigorous, and responsive.  Whole-group lessons are designed to explicitly model how to apply grade-level skills and to facilitate student participation and engagement with these skills.  All lessons are closely aligned with grade-level standards, giving all students access to the knowledge necessary for achievement.  In addition, whole-group lessons progressively build off of one another to help students make connections between what they already know and what they are learning.  Small group instruction includes activities that provide access to these standards in different ways, allowing all students to actively engage with grade-level content, regardless of their individual level of mathematics understanding.

In addition, curriculum and instruction at MELA are not fixed entities: they are constantly being reviewed, revised, and adjusted in response to student and teacher feedback and growth.  This ongoing reflective process ensures that students receive relevant, purposeful instruction at all times.

Add-Vantage Math Recovery (AVMR) Programming
At MELA, all teachers are active participants in the AVMR training process.  The strategies teachers learn in AVMR training are infused into small group instruction in order to help students recover and build lagging skills and increase their fluency and flexibility in using grade level skills.  MELA students also have the opportunity to receive additional AVMR instruction from a Math Interventionist as needed in order to further strengthen their numeracy skills.  
Transparency of Success
At MELA, we use personalized goal-setting, explicit instruction and modeling, and AVMR strategies and techniques to help students understand and access success in mathematics.  When students know what they are working toward and receive the support and feedback necessary to achieve their goals, their confidence grows as much as their skills.

Next Up: Assessment that Matters 
Assessments are only as good as the information they give us about how students have grown and what we should do next.  Learn about how MELA uses assessment information to help inform and create instructional opportunities that allow students to reach their fullest potential.