. Hey everybody and welcome to Tier One Interventions podcast, where we look
at your core classroom and we try to maximize your gifts and help you reach
every student with their math, with their writing, and with their reading skills.
But we concentrate mostly on math here at Tier One Interventions podcast.
And our math leader, miss Jonily, is ready to share some gold nuggets today.
Welcome to the podcast Jonily, and they are gold nuggets because these
last few weeks have been a whirlwind.
I'm gonna kinda take us back a little bit, and there's another community that
I teach called a Math teacher Mastermind, and I'm going to launch our session today.
I didn't erase the notes on purpose because I'm gonna make some of those
connections to our tier one interventions, and I do have to say that this is
tier one interventions level two.
So we come out of the gate with the mathematics and a pretty
high level of mathematics.
So if you're listening to this recording and you're thinking, okay, that came
on strong, I teach third graders.
You need to just go back and listen to other podcasts or tier one
interventions, level one because you'll get the pieces that will help third
graders understand this level up.
Because what I'm going to teach you today is for third graders and beyond.
It is for third graders and beyond.
It's going to look at first glance like it's for secondary students, but
it is for third graders and beyond.
Now I have to say this 'cause I've been on a rant in the last few weeks.
NAP scores national achievement scores.
Math is awful.
It is dismal, it is terrible.
I'm gonna speak for the United States for a moment.
Our country is falling very short mathematically, and
that is not my opinion.
That is shown in data.
And oftentimes if I don't agree with the data, if I'm like, okay, yeah, but
this, or, yeah, but that, I'll tell you.
But I agree with the data because I'm in classrooms all over the
place and the kids don't know.
They don't know.
And that is a system problem.
That is a tier one problem.
See that is not an intervention problem.
That is not a tier two, tier three.
We need more support.
Tier two and tier three is overpopulated in mathematics in our schools.
So not even some random test company, if you wanna say that.
Even though they've been around for a while.
And I believe that NA is very credible.
The sample populations they use, I think are very selective, very good.
And I'm pretty skeptical on data, but I back that up.
But even in schools, even in your local schools, if you go to like dozens of local
schools, one of the biggest complaints is our kids don't get mathematics.
So we're saying it in the schools also.
So ultimately we are agreeing and we're saying our school,
our kids don't get mathematics.
And we have, we don't have enough personnel to serve tier
two and tier three intervention.
Now, we're, some of you are probably gonna kick yourselves if you're
listening to this, that you've said that in the past few weeks.
Because what I'm going to say is, if that's the problem, it's a tier
one core general classroom problem.
And I'm gonna tell you first and foremost, this comes back
to the math classroom teacher
does the math.
Classroom teacher need supports.
Absolutely supports like Sherry and Theresa and Beth, occupational therapists,
special service areas, intervention specialists, instructional coaches,
all of us need tier one interventions.
All of us, whether you're the regular math classroom teacher or not,
principals, assistant principals, curriculum directors, hear me loud.
If you are a curriculum director, assistant superintendent of a school
district, perk up now if you're listening to this, because you all
are the ones that create the climate, culture, and flavor for your school.
And I'm telling you right now, if you want to completely reverse math deficits,
you've got to get everyone who works with math students in your building to
take the tier one interventions course.
The reason is, it's the answer to the biggest problem that we've ever had.
Oh, do I dare say the biggest problem that we've ever had in education?
I'm gonna say it because I think we've made a lot of gains in literacy.
We've made a lot of gains in reading.
We've made a lot of gains in literacy.
There are lots of solutions for literacy.
Are we where we wanna be?
No.
I don't think we'll ever be where we wanna be.
That's not the point.
But we've made a ton of gains and we've we have a lot of options and
solutions for literacy in mathematics.
We are still running the hamster wheel.
We're trading one bad product for another.
A, a new company or an old company will create a new math textbook.
And this is the answer, and it's not the answer.
I'm telling you right now the answer to filling gaps, because we have
exposed some really extreme data on scaling math achievement with
what we're talking about here.
And it is tier one interventions.
The bigger umbrella name is Math Mastery Method.
We need mastery with our students.
Now, I'm gonna say this all because this has been part of my journey this year.
If any of you don't know, I have not been teacher of record for a
group of kids for about 14 years.
I have been on tour.
For lack of a better phrase, in lots of schools, school districts, classroom.
I've been working with hundreds of teachers and thousands of students
over the past 14 years to figure out what is the real issue by actually
getting into the trenches, getting into actual teachers classrooms, and
listening to teachers, and listening to students, listening to school leaders,
principals and curriculum directors.
So for the past 14 years, I have done that.
And then I have run some experiments, some action research projects that have
taken passing rates of math assessments, specifically in fourth grade, from 54%
to 84% in two years and in sixth grade, taking kids who were a select group of
very at-risk kids from 27% passing to 60% passing with 92% showing growth, taking
a group of second graders that don't have a state assessment, but using whatever
the standardized assessment is or using whatever the math assessment type is.
When I say math assessment type and math I, I say this lightly math
intervention type things like maps, Alex.
Star.
There are many others that actually continue to monitor students' growth
because these are special ability not testing companies, but special ability
math progress monitoring programs that will help us gauge whether students are
the lowest in red or yellow, the next lowest or blue or green, the highest.
The colors don't matter.
Usually there's like a color system in whatever you use,
telling you where your kids are.
But another one of our outstanding data pieces is a group of second graders after
going through the mastery math method for about six weeks from the beginning
of the school year with what we're teaching through tier one interventions
when they first took their STAR assessment, which don't worry
about, it doesn't have to be star.
I'm not selling star, I'm not connected to star.
It's just one, one.
It's the assessment they used at the beginning.
All of the second graders took it and ended up with likely results.
Some red, some yellow, some blue, some green, like all over the place.
Very typical results.
After six weeks of tier one interventions, math mastery method, we had no kids.
Once they took their next level in the program, we had
no kids at red or yellow, none.
Six weeks, second grade.
So what we're saying is by using the math mastery method, you're going to
eliminate and really almost get all your kids to the 40th or 50th percentile
level, which 50th percentile is average.
So I share that and I want that out there because this first part that of our tier
one interventions, the group that is listening live right now is level two.
But this first part is gonna be made public up to a certain point.
And I want you to hear some of the things that we have done
that are outstanding and scaling.
And as you listen to this, reach out because we are making math
happen and in really beautiful ways.
So if I back up and I talk about tier one interventions, the Dismal Math
scores, the Math Mastery Method, the Math Mastery Method level two, I'll go
back to what I said before, my rant, and that is I've left up these notes
from our math teacher Mastermind, which is a different group, different cohort,
because I'm gonna start off there and make connections to our content today.
Our content today is a part two of level two.
So last time we met as a group, we talked about lockers, rectangles, and pizzas.
We only got to the locker piece, but it was very extensive.
It was very detailed, and it was very specific and explicit.
So I'm gonna circle back to locker after I start these notes.
And then we're going to connect the lockers.
Pizzas, rectangles.
Oh, my locker's, pizzas.
Rectangles.
Oh, my locker's, pizzas, rectangles.
Oh, mine.
Luck's.
Pizzas, rectangles.
Oh, mine.
That's not a real song, but it is now.
Okay,
now notice what I just did there.
Notice what I just did.
I went on this whole rant, explanation, supporting with data.
I did a whole thing w wa.
And to re-trigger our brains, I broke out in song.
I don't want you to miss that.
'cause if you zoned out and all of a sudden I'm like, luck's,
pizzas, rectangles on my, you're like, what is happening right now?
What is she doing?
I don't understand.
But see, do you see how we reconnect?
And I want you to think about this as far as math instruction.
What are we doing in our classrooms?
Go ahead, Sherry, I'm gonna interrupt you right there.
That rhythm music is.
One of those triggers that goes even before visual and
auditory learning happens.
It is much more foundational.
What is one of the first things that happens in the womb?
They start to be able to hear and they feel the movement.
Mo music goes into your soul, into your bones.
That's why music is so crucial to learning.
I feel sorry for high school students who never crack ATO because they're not
getting their learning into their bones.
So I believe that Natalie was earlier before we ever started recording, was
talking about doing exercises with the kids where we're crossing midline and
we're doing all kinds of fun activities.
You probably had a rhythm with it, which is gonna take it right to the
bones and it's gonna get to that core of that subconscious learning.
It's gonna break through that barrier, and when you have subconscious
learning, you're going to learn it.
It's when we get there that we can learn.
Beautifully said, boom.
I have so much to say about that because two things, one, after 14 years of
not being teacher of record, this year I've jumped back in and I am teacher of
record for three high school classes.
Two Algebra two, and an algebra one.
My algebra one students say to me now every day, and I want you to take this
as you will, my algebra one students every day, and they don't say it when
they walk in, catch this about 14 minutes into the lesson, they will
randomly, someone will randomly say, oh, what's the song of the day, Ms.
Hanzi?
Because I don't, because when they first come in, there's already a novelty.
We have a routine, we have a warmup, we have a system.
Like they're already triggered.
They're already triggered.
We come in, sometimes the lights are dim, sometimes they're not.
I go back and forth with lighting because some kids, honestly.
Don't love the lights dim, so I can like half dim, I can, I, my actual
fluorescent lights have levels to them.
And then I also have my LED lights and a couple little lamps.
But I go back and forth with the lighting.
I don't always have it the same.
It's different because different kids need different things and we all
need to adjust to, if I walk into a room and the lighting isn't right I
still have to force myself to learn.
We can't always just cater and accommodate.
We have to make sure we teach kids how to self accommodate as well.
So my lighting's always diff always different, but we already
have routine warm, like they get their folders, they get started.
This is high school.
Like they are very independent.
And so usually about 14 to 16 minutes in now hear this, and this
is so funny that this has been happening in Algebra one over the
last week, about 14 to 16 minutes in.
Think about what the ages are of kids that are taking high school.
Algebra one.
They're ninth graders.
They're about 14, 15 years old.
Research has shown, and I'm not sure I have the direct research study on this.
Like people say it all the time and I use this research, but I'm not sure
I have the direct quote to the study.
So if somebody does put that into school, if you could, our comments in school.
But research shows that our attention on one thing, unless we are in flow
unless we are like really in the zone, our attention to attend to
one thing is for kids up through our twenties is about our age level.
“Alright friends, that wraps today’s conversation on attention spans,
dopamine hits, and why our kids need novelty and rhythm woven into math.
Next week, we’re going deeper into nonlinear thinking—how switching tasks,
breaking patterns, and mixing contexts can actually grow a child’s executive
functioning and mathematical reasoning.
You’re not gonna want to miss this one… it’s where the magic starts to click.
And hey—if you’re loving this and want to get the full workshop where
we go step-by-step into Mastery Math Method, you can sign up to
experience one workshop for just $47.
The link is waiting for you.”