A topic close to my heart that I have yet to write about on this blog is Cognitive Tutor. I have especially felt compelled to write about Cognitive Tutor in the past two weeks. At the same time the thought of tackling such a task has been daunting and overwhelming. What subtopic(s) should I cover? What angle or perspective should I take? What do followers want to read about? How do I convey my excitement for this program without sounding like a desperate, cheesy salesman?
About three years ago I found myself dissatisfied with the current curriculum I was using in my pre-algebra classes. It’s not a bad curriculum. It is an on-going, ever-changing, multi-year collaboration of all the 8th grade math teachers in my district, thoughtful and well-planned out. Many people put in a lot of hours, sweat and tears putting this curriculum together, myself included. It simply did not meet the needs of the lowest 5% of my students. I was bothered by the fact that I did not send these students off to high school adequately prepared for Algebra I. I felt personally responsible for setting these students up for failure. (Today I blend that old curriculum with Carnegie’s, picking and choosing parts and pieces that have been successful with my students.)
To make a long story not too long, Sami was brought in to introduce Carnegie Learning and Cognitive Tutor to our high school math department. Middle school math teachers were invited, mainly because we taught Algebra I in 8th grade, but there was no initial intention of using Carnegie Learning at the middle school level. At the time, I was under the impression that my district viewed Carnegie Learning more as an intervention program than a mainstream curriculum.
Cognitive Tutor is an online software program that uses artificial intelligence-like model that customizes in real time a student’s plan based on his/her performance. In a nutshell, no two students will experience identical sequence of problems. The more competencies a student can demonstrate on a particular math concept, the fewer number of problems s/he has to solve before advancing to the next unit. I have been waiting my whole life for a program like Cognitive Tutor!
At the end of that school year, I approached Becky about the idea of me using Cognitive Tutor in my own classroom. To my pleasant surprise she thought it was a fabulous idea. Despite all the lows and highs, it has been one of the best decisions in my professional career.
There is so much more I can say, but I should probably save them for another day. Thanks for checking in.
A blog written BY teachers FOR other teachers. Learn more about the Carnegie Learning curricula: best practices, pacing, classroom management, and more!
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Note: The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer(s), and do not represent those of Carnegie Learning, Inc.
3 comments:
That's great that she supported you in your request! I love that the tutor really allows me to differentiate instruction. Students who need to be challenged are and those who need more time can get it all at the same time!Plus my students love being in the lab. They are always asking if we can go. Anytime students are asking to do math you must be doing something right!
Well, I wish that I can say that all my students enjoy Cognitive Tutor. Don't get me wrong -- most do. Unfortunately, my students who really struggle in math find the software component just as challenging and get discourage. They also get frustrated on how the program wants them to input answers. I'm slowly turning these students around. Putting up a progress chart has helped!
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