Welcome to our NSF supported COMPS-RtI project showcase video! Your favorable voting is appreciated! We welcome your constructive/insightful feedback and comments—Thank you!

Sybilla and I were intrigued by parallels with our own work in multiplication. You use a single mathematical model equation to represent diverse problem types, and you distinguish the original model from the equation that computes the solution. We do something similar in the context of multiplication when working with future middle and secondary grades mathematics teachers.  

Your project looks very interesting. Does your program have a feature that reads the problems aloud for students for whom reading is difficult (either through learning disabilities, non-native English speakers, or other reading issues)? What kinds of support are there for teachers and students to learn to use your software? How successful do you find it to teach students the language of different problem types (such as part-part-whole)?

One other question that occurred to me: I wonder about your program's use of the "smaller" and "bigger" language attached to the part/whole. I understand what you are using it, but this is also a rule that "expires" as students begin to grapple with integers later. How does your project address the fact that you are teaching students something that will not be true later?

Providing students with new ways to explore relationships among quantities and to model these relationships is an important goal. I appreciate the work your project is doing to support this! I'm wondering if you can say more about how you imagine the materials being used by students. Do you expect this will be something that students use on their own? Will it supplement or replace curriculum materials? I'm also wondering what part of the materials in particular you think are valuable for students with learning difficulties. It seems to me that the modeling approach has the potential to also strengthen the math understandings of students who do not have difficulty with more procedural approaches.

First of all, thank you for your positive and insightful comments!

To answer your question—

Students will not be expected to work with the tutor completely alone. Teacher has a synergistic role in this process. That is, In case the learner is “stuck” in the program, the teacher will be called upon for help. Upon request, the computer program will provide the teacher with a brief report that indicates the task the learner is current working on as well as recent interaction/exchanges between the learner and the tutor—the information from the report will help the teacher identify the issue and make proper diagnostic decisions. The teacher will either redirect the learner to the proper module/lesson or provide remediation to address skill deficit or misconception so that the learner can continue in the tutoring program.

The Teacher’s Manual we will produce upon completion of the project will prepare the teacher for the use of this COMPS-RtI tutor. Re the Teacher’s Manual, please also refer to my answer to Wendy’s first question above. Thank you!

As this program is in line with elementary mathematics curriculum standards, this tutoring program not only can be used as a supplemental program for students with learning difficulties in mathematics, but also can be used as a tool to help math teachers’ teaching to meet the regular curriculum standards.

Thanks for this information. I'm wondering a bit about how easy it will be for teachers to review recent exchanges and then know how to proceed. If there are typical approaches you expect students to use perhaps that would be useful for teachers to have some information about?

Thank you so much for your insightful question/suggestion!

The Teacher’s Manual that the team will develop towards the end of the project will prepare the teacher with the knowledge in terms of "know how to proceed". Specifically--

If it is technical glitches, it is easy to be resolved—students will be monitored so that they follow the proper direction of the program. 

If it is conceptual deficits, the “node map” for each of the modules (which will be developed as part of the Teacher’s Manual) will help the teacher make decisions in terms of whether the student should be sent back to a specific module or lesson to make up the prerequisite skill/knowledge or whether the student should bypass a specific skill (e.g., use a calculator rather than mental math to solve for the unknown quantity).

I hope above explanation is helpful.