Streamline Teaching Task

To SLEEDU is to streamline (SLE) any education (EDU) to provide learning equity for all students. It is neither a technology nor a strategy; it’s a transformation in education to provide diverse needs of our students, teachers, and school leaders. Teachers implement Blended Learning instruction and MTSS by providing and training teachers on how to use the provided Learning Management System website and teaching strategies that integrate their current technology and resources.

What is the main tool that we provide?

Powered by today’s open-source technologies, we provide teachers a Learning Management System website for them to integrated their current technology or other online resources.

What critical functions are needed for Sleedu-ing our instruction?

Compared to Google Classroom, below are critical functions that Google Classroom does not have, but teachers need them to implement high-impact Blended Learning instruction. Powered by today’s technology, teachers can streamline teaching tasks to streamline learning processes that provide learning equity for all students.

How do teachers Sleedu differentiated direct instruction?

Reality-Check: According to Hattie, boredom has an effect size of -0.47. Students are losing more than one year of learning because of boredom. During distance learning, it is boring for teachers to talk to a screen, and it is much more boring for students to listen and pay attention to direct instruction via video-communications. Students are distracted by ambient noises, loss of signals, slow internet connection, and other distractions. Students could be on their phones or watching random videos while teachers are delivering instruction.

If teachers teach rigorous courses like mathematics, they will find themself repeating the same information over and over. They are forced to waste time re-teach easy concepts because a few students did not pay attention.

During in-person direct instruction, students learn passively as they listen to their teachers’ presentations. Most importantly, teachers cannot support all struggling students because they have limited time.

ANSWER: Implement interactive videos embedded with questions that are auto-graded and provided students with instant feedback. Students cannot skip forward, so they have to watch the entire video. Students work at their own pace.

How will this benefit students? According to Hattie, he asserts that the effect size of interactive video and intelligent tutoring is 0.54 and 0.51. For distance learning, students don’t have to watch low-quality direct instruction via a video-communication platform. Now, students will enjoy a beautiful and high-quality video that is precise and short. Most importantly, students have fun answering questions throughout the video to self-assess themselves. Likewise, students can learn at their own pace. Because the teachers are live and present with students, students can ask their teachers immediately. In addition, teachers can use real-time and past data to scaffold and reteach students during synchronous sessions.

How will this benefit teachers?

The amount of time and effort to create a short and high-quality video is a lot less than repeating the lecture repeatedly. Most importantly, teachers allow students to learn actively at their own pace. When students attempt a question, they get instant feedback and correct their answers for partial credit. As equally important, teachers can facilitate and provide meaningful and individualized intervention and support to struggling students during synchronous sessions. Before, teachers are forced to be on the stage reading PowerPoint or showing how to solve a problem to a group of 36 students. Now, teachers can access real-time and past data during synchronous sessions to reteach and engage students by addressing students’ common misunderstandings.

With interactive video activities, students are actively learning. Teachers can access real-time and past data to drive meaningful and engaging discussions during synchronous sessions by looking at specific students’ work.

Also, the data of students allows teachers to identify struggling or off-task students easily. Likewise, teachers can guide their direct instruction by looking at data to identify difficult topics to re-teach.

Likewise, teachers can use Equity Sticks or Cold Calls on students to explain how to solve problems or their answers during synchronous sessions. The process encourages other students to ask their own questions, and students will feel as if they are in the same class.

How do we help Professional Development specialists support teachers?

Most Professional Development specialists are experts in specific content. Now, Professional Development specialists can collaborate with teachers to create high-quality videos for teachers. Instead of looking for videos on YouTube, Professional Development specialists can create meaningful videos for teachers, or with their teachers.

How do teachers promote students to be independent learners while providing Multi-tiered Systems of Support .

Reality-Check: Doing practice problems is one the most of the critical part of acquiring and mastering new knowledge. However, it evolves into meaningless tasks as teachers do not grade and provide timely feedback.

According to Hattie, he asserts that “self-reported grades” have the highest size-effect (1.33) compared to all other influences, excluding collective teacher efficacy.

By assigning independent practices, teachers can create learning opportunities where students apply prior knowledge (0.99) and engage in cognitive tasks (1.29) that encourage students to build self-efficacy (0.92). Most importantly, teachers can scaffold students to solve more rigorous problems (Piagetian (1.28) and Scaffolding(0.82). The instant feedback provides students meaningful intervention(1.28) as students self-assess their understanding.

ANSWER: Teachers can collaborate with other teachers throughout a district to create questions and resources.

What are the limitations of traditional teaching methods?

Limitations of traditional teaching methods can be identified by answering the questions below:

  • Can students find and share answer keys easily?
  • Can students share their answers with other students easily?
  • Can teachers grade and provide feedback to all students’ work timely?

Traditional teaching methods are mainly based on making copies of worksheets, present Google Slides, writing assessments using publishers’ question banks, passing out worksheets, and collecting worksheets. However, it lacks other essential tasks of effective teaching.

Here are the most essential tasks of today’s educators:

  • Create high-quality and related teaching content. Third-party content is designed for broader audiences, and teachers need to create content based on their students’ needs.
  • Grade and provide meaningful feedback. Learning is already challenging for many students. If teachers do not grade and provide any feedback, their students will stop trying.
  • Multi-tiered System of Support: As current teachers who teach regular chemistry, we learn that grading late work is a daunting and time-consuming task, but it’s a necessity. Using the right tools, teachers can streamline intervention and support by allowing students to learn from their mistakes. For example, students can make up missing work or re-attempt questions for partial credits.

How do we train and support teachers?

✅ We take the time to create all online courses with pre-set gradebook, enrollment, and other administrative settings so teachers can start building resources and create activities right easily.

✅ We have precise, short training videos with easy step-by-step instruction that teachers can learn at their own pace. Most videos are about three minutes long. For longer videos, we have PDF guides with step-by-step instructions that teachers can print out and annotate as they watch the videos. The total time is less than three hours. We have teachers who are not tech-savvy, and they have become experts by watching the videos. We also have many new teachers and intern teachers who have learned it while completing their inductions.

According to Mr. Ahmadi, he claims that the strategies and website allow him to revolutionize how he teaches and to provide learning equity for all students. Below is a video from Mr. Ahmadi.

In Mr. Ahmadi’s words: “Students come to us with varying skill levels. Some are exceptionally gifted. but more often my students come to me with several learning deficits. By being able to pinpoint which areas a student needs most growth in, I can then accommodate [their] needs. [The website and strategies] allows me to teach all my students equitably.

Mr. Crane, who teaches 9th Biology, also uses the tools and strategies to engage and support his 9th BARR biology students (Building Assets, Reducing Risks).

Ms. Lutes is also a 9th Biology BARR teacher. According to Ms. Lutes,

” I am able to look at the scores of each student and determine how they are performing very quickly. This allows me to differentiate my instruction in real-time. Students are able to see their scores immediately which allows them to see how they are doing in real-time and assess what they need to do to improve”

Mr. Jeska is a Science Department Co-chair who has been teaching Earth Science and Anatomy for more than 15 years. He pointed out: “Hundreds of dollars in paper cost saved!”.

Furthermore, we also have math teachers who have become experts by themselves. Mrs. Beebe, who teaches Integrated Math I and II, have learned it by watching the videos and implementing in her classes. Because mistakes or errors are not permanent, she can make changes as needed.

Ms. Coen, who teaches Integrated Math II and Calculus, has become an expert by playing with tools and strategies as she implements them in her math classes. Both teachers continue to expand and explore new strategies to engage their students.

After school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these teachers and their students have transitioned into distance learning with little learning interruption.

✅ Teachers have many different ways to create questions. It’s no longer multiple choice or single short answer. With so many formats, teachers can create questions for any grade levels and any subjects. Teachers can also create questions that are similar to or more rigorous than their high-state tests like CAASPP. Working together as a team, teachers can create and share questions during their PLCs. We have teachers at many different schools who are working together to create and share questions with each other during the summer to get ready for distance learning.

Teachers can create questions with many different types of media (pictures, videos, simulations, graphs, readings, etc.) to create real-life example problems. Below are a few examples:

  • Multiple-parts questions
  • Graphing questions
  • Numerical calculated questions auto-generated from a data set and formula
  • Multiple choices or Multiple Responses
  • Single Short-Answer
  • Matching with extra incorrect answers to increase rigor
  • Venn Diagrams
  • Label Images

✅ Teachers and PD specialists throughout a district can create and share customizable resources easily and quickly. This is the key to working smarter, and not harder. Most importantly, each teacher can modify shared questions to best support their students’ needs.

How do we help teachers to collaborate productively during Professional Learning Communities?

Administrators often ask their teachers to have common assessments; however, it is very challenging for all teachers to agree on the same things.

With our solution, teachers are inspired to collaborate and share resources to build common assessments because they can modify the questions based on their needs.

How do we help Professional Development Specialists and Academic coaches to support teachers effectively?

Administrators can redefine the roles of PD specialists and academic coaches with specific and measurable tasks to support teachers. For example, administrators can assign PD specialists and academic coaches to create questions for teachers to use. Then, teachers can modify to support their needs. Likewise, this will build a positive and trusting relationship between teachers and their PD specialists/ academic coaches. 

More importantly, PD specialists and coaches can watch our training videos to be supporting experts at your schools. Since the whole entire training course is less than 3 hours, they could finish in half a day. Then, they can start creating questions for teachers to use right away.

With our online training videos and PD specialists at a school, teachers can become experts easily and quickly.

✅ 1000s of ready-to-use questions. We currently have 1000s of questions for teachers to download and use them in their classes.

✅ 24/7 access to FAQs and Help Desk: Each time a teacher asks us a question, we provide detailed answers for other teachers to see as well. All of the questions and answers are organized into a single place for teachers to find them easily. 

✅ Weekly 1-hour live Qs and As. We host a weekly live Qs and As for teachers and administrators to join in and ask any questions.

How do we promote teacher and student accountability?

Reality Check: Having transparency is essential to both teachers and students. It prevents possible miscommunications and misunderstandings among teachers, parents, and students. Especially for distance learning, parents will have many questions about teacher accountability and their own child’s responsibility.

✅ ANSWER: When teachers start implementing our solution, they will have comprehensive data about students’ learning outcomes and effort. . Below are examples of some data:

  • Comprehensive and detailed gradebook. All grades are linked to the activities.
  • How many times a did student attempt a question or a practice?
  • How much time a student has spent on a practice?
  • How much time a student has spent on questions?
  • What are the student’ responses?
  • What intervention have teachers provided for students?

With all the comprehensive data above, teachers can use the data to identify struggling or off-task students easily to re-engage them. This will be a valuable asset to provide high-quality learning for all students during distance learning or in-person learning.

Together, can can Sleedu learning equity.

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