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Expert Corner: Beyond Whole Group Instruction Educator of the Month: Joe Restoule General Summer Slide in Math and Science Probability Lesson Material Updates
Expert Corner: Beyond Whole Group Instruction This school year, I wrote a series of articles for this newsletter highlighting whole-group instruction with Gizmos. We explored the various ways that teachers can use Gizmos in classrooms with only a computer and a projector, and discussed instructional best practices. Instruction with Gizmos goes beyond a whole-group approach in a classroom, however. With access to at least one computer or iPad per 3 to 4 students, the possibilities open up even more. Students can work in small collaborative groups to complete Student Exploration Sheet activities or to find solutions to teacher challenges. With enough devices for each student to work individually with Gizmos, instruction can be differentiated even further. Students can work on different activities with the same Gizmo, or work across multiple Gizmos to explore different aspects of the target concept. Even when technology is available for all your students to explore a concept with Gizmos individually, they will benefit greatly from a whole-group introduction to the Gizmo and discussion of the goals of the lesson. A great way to ensure that your students are ready to succeed at the start of class is to pose the Prior Knowledge Questions (in the Exploration Sheet) as bell ringers back in the classroom, and then follow up with a whole-class activity that goes through the controls of the Gizmo and the Gizmo Warm-Up. After the students complete their individual activities with the Gizmo, be sure to conduct a follow-up activity in a whole group setting. This follow-up gives students an opportunity to process their learning and you an opportunity to informally assess student understanding. All of the best practices in whole group instruction that we reviewed during this year’s article series are equally applicable regardless of student device access. I enjoyed hearing from Gizmo users throughout the year as we discussed whole-group instruction with Gizmos. I hope you all have a rejuvenating summer and come back next school year ready to again make a difference with kids! Read the rest of the articles on whole-group instruction.
Educator of the Month: Joe Restoule General
Mr. Restoule General works at J.C. Hill School, located on the Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation in southern Ontario, Canada. All his students are First Nation students, who he describes as “enthusiastic and inquisitive learners.” He works with students requiring extra support in math and language, or alternative learning in those subject areas. “These students are most engaged with technology and games that infuse math and language learning, as traditional methods of instruction haven't provided the best learning experience for them.”
Find out how he uses Gizmos to support small group and whole group instruction in the full story on our blog.
New Milestone for Reflex
In just the past three months students answered an incredible 1 billion math facts on Reflex! This brings the total facts answered to more than 5 billion, along with an amazing 100 million facts mastered. Approximately 2 million students across North America in 2500 school districts are now using Reflex regularly, and the number continues to climb. To check out Reflex, take a free trial.
Summer Slide in Math and Science The summer slide is a well-documented challenge that many school districts face. Without good reinforcement of content and practice over the summer, students can lose up to three months of academic knowledge. Teachers that have access to Gizmos can assign topics over the summer to reinforce content that students learned throughout the school year. Or to keep students engaged in the subject matter, teachers can assign new Gizmos to preview content students may encounter in the next grade level. For teachers that have Reflex, students can continue to use the program during the summer to strengthen math fluency skills. As an incentive, teachers can even print individual reports and certificates for the next grade’s teacher, so she or he can recognize the student on the first day back. Some ideas for encouraging Reflex usage of the summer can be found on our blog.
Have ideas about engaging students over the summer? Share them on our Gizmos and Reflex Facebook pages.
Probability Lesson Material Updates Probability is a measure of how likely an event will occur. For students who are new to probability, it often helps to begin with concrete experiments, rather than calculations. Several probability-related Gizmos have recently received updated Lesson Materials to support understanding of this key mathematics topic. The first two Gizmos listed below offer simulations of activities like that. The third and fourth are a bit more advanced and are designed to help with some of the more abstract calculations. • Independent and Dependent Events • Permutations and Combinations Read more about these great Gizmos on our blog and also how to scaffold learning with more than one Gizmo.
New (and improved!) Blog
The blog provides a great archive of the featured educators you've read about in past issues of this newsletter. And, as if that's not enough incentive to visit, it also hosts ExploreLearning's job listings!
Recent Accolades
Gizmos and Reflex have won BESSIE Awards for the second year in a row, and Gizmos has been nominated for three REVERE Awards (formally known as AEP Awards): the prestigious Golden Lamp award, plus nominations for both math and science.
Stay in Touch
And as always, if you have a question or comment about Gizmos or Reflex, don't hesitate to contact our Customer Support team using the support form for either Gizmos or Reflex. We would love to hear from you. For information on bringing Gizmos and Reflex to schools in your area, contact your ExploreLearning Account Representative:
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Laura Chervenak has been with ExploreLearning since 2010 as the VP of Professional Development. She has taught high school science, and is the founder and former director of GOAL Digital Academy. Laura is National Board Certified in Science/Adolescence and Young Adulthood, with a B.A. in Zoology and an M.S. in Anthropology. 
Joe Restoule General has been teaching for 13 years, and currently works as a Learning Resource Teacher and is a certified Peer Helper Trainer. He attended Queen’s University in Ontario for his B. Ed. and the University of Western Ontario for his M. Ed.
In addition to independent study over the summer, schools can also use Gizmos during summer programs. One great example of a district-wide effort is Shelby County (TN) School’s Summer Leadership Camp for Boys and Girls.
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