DECORAH MIDDLE SCHOOL 406 Winnebago Street Decorah, IA 52101 563-382-8420 Carnegie Learning at Decorah Middle School a 21st Century approach to learning mathematics Research Behind Carnegie Learning Carnegie Learning considers research about how people learn: • Focus on major concepts and principles • Use previous knowledge to construct new understanding • Learners reflect to monitor their thinking • Different learning styles and strategies are acknowledged • Learning is active • Learning is enhanced by interactions with others Components of 21st Century Learning in which Carnegie Learning supports: • The focus is on what students know and can do rather than the memorization of facts • The learning is active rather than passive • Learners work collaboratively rather than alone • The classroom is student-centered rather than teacher-centered • Content is related to student interests, experiences, and the real world Adopted from Carnegie Learning research materials
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D E C O R A H M I D D L E S C H O O L 406 Winnebago Street
Decorah, IA 52101 563-382-8420
Carnegie
Learning
at Decorah Middle School
a 21st Century approach to learning mathematics
Research Behind Carnegie LearningCarnegie Learning considers research about how people learn:
• Focus on major concepts and principles
• Use previous knowledge to construct new understanding
• Learners reflect to monitor their thinking
• Different learning styles and strategies are acknowledged
• Learning is active
• Learning is enhanced by interactions with others
Components of 21st Century Learning in which Carnegie Learning supports:
• The focus is on what students know and can do rather than the memorization of facts
• The learning is active rather than passive
• Learners work collaboratively rather than alone
• The classroom is student-centered rather than teacher-centered
• Content is related to student interests, experiences, and the real world
Adopted from Carnegie Learning research materials
Questions & AnswersWhat is Carnegie Learning (CL)? Carnegie Learning is a math curriculum which blends inquiry learning with technology to provide students with opportunities for investigative learning and individualized practice.What are the components of Carnegie Learning? CL provides students with a consumable textbook in which they can write. Within the text are inquiry-based questions and activities. CL also has online skills practice called Mathia (middle school) or Cognitive Tutor (high school). The computer portion of CL individualizes practice problems for each student based on his or her needs. Why did we adopt Carnegie Learning? The 6-12 math teachers of DCSD researched a variety of curriculums last spring. The goal of a new curriculum was to meet the requirements of the Common Core as well as the needs of our students. This curriculum will not only help students learn math, but they will also be gaining the skills of communication, team work, and problem solving.
What is a typical week of learning for the students? Generally, two days a week will be spent working on skills practice with the online software and the other three days are spent working collaboratively in the textbook.
What are the Students and Teachers doing during a lesson? During lessons within the textbook, students work collaboratively in groups. In these groups students are able to share ideas with each other and discuss possible solutions. While discussing these solutions, students share the various paths they took to arrive at their answers. This gives the students opportunity to learn from each other and explain and defend their understanding.
The teacher’s main goal during a lesson is to guide students’ thinking through planned questioning and monitoring of discussion. Teachers may or may not provide whole class instruction depending on what is necessary to meet student needs. On days when students are working with the computer software, teachers are assisting students and providing remediation for students who have been absent or have been struggling.
What should my child be doing at home? In the past, students would typically be working on practice problems from their textbooks. Because those practice problems are now addressed and assessed within Mathia and Cognitive Tutor, your child may be working on those problems at home. Assignments from the textbook may also occasionally be given.
Do you have other questions? Would you like to learn more about Carnegie Learning? Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher.
Jesse Halweg [email protected] Jesse Lyon [email protected]
Stacy Miner [email protected]
How can I help my child? Because much of the textbook work is completed at school, you can help your child by asking him or her to explain his or her understanding of the responses they have written. If there are questions, encourage your child to ask his or her teacher for clarification. On the computer program, there is a lesson and a step-by-step problem provided for each concept. If your child is struggling, you can help him or her by reading the lesson and/or completing the step-by-step together to gain understanding of the concepts.What should we do if the computer program is not working? We understand that technology is not always reliable, which is why the online assignments are long-term (1-3 weeks) so that every student has optimal time to get the work completed and should never have to rely on the technology working on a specific day. If there are ongoing issues with the technology, please ask your child to see his or her teacher and an appointment can be made with the district’s technician to resolve those issues.
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