This program is currently being
used in Canada for classes 1-8 and uses a balanced approach called “guided
discovery”. Essentially, students
explore on their own (with guidance), and go through a series of challenges
increasing in difficulty, receiving immediate feedback. This program allows students to work at their
own pace and breaks down lessons into manageable chunks. This helps everyone learn better, because
they move at the speed they feel comfortable and never get overwhelmed with
information. This means LD kids can
learn the material just as well as academic students. Each small concept is immediately practiced
and assessed. This keeps students more
engaged. By learning a small concept,
immediately practicing it, then immediately getting feedback, it resembles more
of a video game format of a reward system – immediate feedback for
accomplishing a task. Even students with
short attention spans can get through the challenges and learn
effectively. In addition, this format of
learning ensures that no child gets left behind and greatly reduces the chances
of students developing gaps. Kids get a
more solid foundation on which to build in the future. The JUMP program also provides training
and resources for teachers to make implementing the program easier. For more information, visit jumpmath.org.
Hey Natalie, this was a good post. I like the idea of this and how it reaches students of all different learning abilities. The immediate feedback is also a great feature as it allows students to know where their strengths and weaknesses are. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie,
ReplyDeleteI have used the JUMP Math program before when I had a Student Support Centre. While it is a great resource for all the reasons you mentioned, I would be cautious to never invest wholly into one program (not that you mentioned that). I have seen it used as the main instruction in classrooms before. We must remember that our math programs need to be comprehensive - JUMP math has its benefits, but we must provide our students with a variety of math instruction.
I agree - no classroom should be completely taught one way. I believe in a balanced approach that integrates various Math teaching strategies such as JUMP, flipped classrooms, 3Acts lessons, etc. in order to teach to all learning styles and interests. All students are different, so the use of only one approach would be to ignore all that wonderful diversity in the classroom. Thanks for your comment!
Delete