1. "Opening” Mathematics: New Resources for New Approaches Scott Vashaw Director of Education Services Michigan Virtual School Jessica Everton Editorial Development National Repository of Online Courses (NROC) VSS, November 2010

2. Agenda  NROC & Michigan Virtual  Algebra: A National Challenge  Algebra 1—An Open Course  The Michigan Math Experience  Your feedback and discussion

3. NROC: National Repository of Online Course The National Repository of Online Courses (NROC) is a growing library of high-quality online courses for students and faculty in high school, Advanced Placement©, and higher education.

4. High School Course Foundations College Prep Physics I College Prep Physics II Algebra 1a Algebra 1b Algebra 1―An Open Course Curso de Algebra 1A (Spanish) Curso de Algebra 1B (Spanish) College Course Foundations US History I US History II American Government Religions of the World Psychology Elementary Algebra Introductory Calculus I Introductory Calculus II General Calculus I General Calculus II Calculo General I (Spanish) Calculo General II (Spanish) Statistics for the Social Sciences Introductory Physics I (algebra-based) Introductory Physics II (algebra-based) General Physics I (calculus-based) General Physics II (calculus-based) Non-Majors Biology Environmental Science Advanced Placement Course Foundations AP Environmental Science AP Physics B I AP Physics B II AP Physics C I AP Physics C II AP US History I AP US History II AP US Government and Politics AP Calculus AB I AP Calculus AB II AP Calculus BC I AP Calculus BC II AP Biology Coming 2011-12 Developmental Mathematics― An Open Program (also in Spanish) New Content Collections Chemistry Arithmetic Geometry Advanced Math Economics Coming 2011-12 Developmental Mathematics― An Open Program (also in Spanish) New Content Collections Chemistry Arithmetic Geometry Advanced Math Economics NROC Library 2010

5. Michigan Virtual & NROC o Charter Member - NROC o NROC Network Advisor o Hosted multiple math Focus Groups o Pilot site – Algebra 1—An Open Course

6. Michigan Virtual What is the Michigan Virtual School? o 501(c)3 not-for-profit Michigan corporation o Provides online resources and courses o Non-degree granting – credit is granted by school districts

7. Michigan Virtual What is the Michigan Virtual School? o 18000 + enrollments o 140 Course Titles o Over 550 schools served in Michigan o Over 80,000 online course enrollments with current growth rate of 20% per year

8. A National Challenge Source: Final report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel

9. A National Challenge Just 25 percent of community college students get a certificate or an associate's degree or transfer to a four-year institution within three years of enrollment. We’ve got to get people across the finish line. Martha Kanter, US Undersecretary of Education “[Math] triggers drop outs more than any single subject. I think it is a cumulative failure of our ability to teach math adequately in the public school system.” Roy Romer, Los Angeles Superintendent of Schools

10. The NROC Approach Hewlett Foundation Funded

11. Math Focus Groups Antioch, California Antioch High School Baltimore, Maryland Cecil County School District Maryland Virtual School Baltimore County School District Digital Harbor High School Denver, Colorado Denver School of Science and Technology Lansing, Michigan Williamston High School Maple Valley Grosse Pointe Charlotte Public Schools Michigan Virtual School Lowell High School Lansing Public Schools Los Angeles, California Roosevelt High School Southgate high school LAUSD Local district 4 LAUSD Local district 5 LAUSD Local district 8 City of Angels Schools University High school

12. Project Audience: First-time algebra students From remedial to advanced Project Approach: Developing new educational interventions by integrating a broad range of pedagogical approaches Engaging student, instructors, and administrator in the product and enterprise design Project Goal: To offer a multi-modal approach to Algebra I that incorporates cutting edge online learning methods and technologies and is delivered to the world as an Open Educational Resource. NROC Algebra 1―An Open Course

13. Learning Object Architecture: 12 units, 26 lessons, 68 Topics Instructional elements: At the topic level (68 Topics): warm-up (text problems) presentation (video, audio, animation, and graphics) worked examples (audio and graphics) problems (interactive text problems) review (text problems) text tab (online textbook) At the unit level (12 Units): virtual tutor (interactive video, graphics, text) project (text and graphics) puzzles (game-based, interactive animation, graphics) Developmental Math Curriculum NROC Algebra 1―An Open Course

14. The topic home page orients learners to the objective and activities they may use to master the concepts and procedures within the topic. Students may work through the elements in order, jump to the elements assigned by their teacher, or to those elements they have discovered to be the best starting place for their personal learning approach.

15. Warm-ups provide pre-assessment to test prior knowledge and recommend review.

16. Presentations offer a media-rich conceptual introduction to the topic with illustrated examples, and real-world applications. Different presenters appear throughout the course to appeal to different students.

17. Worked examples have been created by Salman Kahn of Kahn Academy (www.khanacademy.org). Sal walks students through step-by-step examples (2-4 per topic) pointing out recommended strategies and procedures while writing the problems on the virtual blackboard. Careful use of color helps students see important information as they work through each problem.www.khanacademy.org

18. Practice problems - symbolic and word - are designed in adaptive sets, and offer students immediate feedback. Problems may be one of nine different types and include manipulatives

19. An integrated textbook provides comprehensive coverage of topics with additional explanations, manipulatives and examples. These pages may be printed per topic, or as a complete textbook for off-line studying and note-taking.

20. Review offers the learner an opportunity to self-test their understanding prior to moving to the next topic.

21. Projects are unit-level, collaborative assignments in the project-based learning tradition to solve real-world problems. Each project provides a multi-step problem, basic instructions and guidance, and a list of resources for students to explore.

22. Tutor simulations offer students directed guidance in problem solving. These simulations allow students to work step-by-step through a problem which requires them to understand and use the math from an entire unit. The tutor provides feedback and hints based on the options students select at each stage of the activity.

23. Drawing upon research on games and learning, each unit includes a Puzzle which give learners a chance to play with and reinforce math concepts in a fun, no-fault environment.

24. Developmental Math Curriculum NROC Algebra 1―An Open Course Product Features Correlated to all US state frameworks and the Common Core Correlated to widely-adopted algebra textbooks Designed for online and hybrid classroom use Single-session formative assessment, multi-session CMS-based Supporting teacher professional development Rich, interactive multimedia with multiple instructional elements

25. Michigan Virtual Addressing the Algebra Problem The Problem Class of 2011: 35.9% of 9 th grade students failed 1 or more classes in 2007-08 16,758 in Class of 2011: 35.9% = 6016 off track for graduation with their class! Immediate problem? Credit Recovery The Solution o Intervention to prevent failure o Increased summer school opportunities o After school programs o Increased use of online learning o NROC Algebra

26. Michigan Virtual Addressing the Algebra Problem Pilot Strategy o Initial Pilot Goals: o Compare the class success of participants using the program to participants using standard classroom approaches. o Develop a valid, reliable, and replicable approach to program evaluation that takes into account the unique characteristics of this learning environment. Research at MVU o Collect usage data o Conduct interviews and administer questionnaires with administrators, faculty, students

27. Algebra 1—An Open Course Release Dates Semester 1, Units 1-6 Currently in final testing Spring Semester 2011, pilot testing with select members Spring Semester 2011, class tests for non-members Summer 2011 available Semester 2, Units 7-12 Spring Semester 2011, in QA Summer 2011, pilot testing with select members Fall 2011 available Professional Development materials available to support usage starting Summer 2011.

28. Updates at www.NROCMath.orgwww.NROCMath.org

29. Scott Vashaw Director of Education Services Michigan Virtual School svashaw@mivu.org Jessica Everton NROC Editorial Director jeverton@montereyinstitute.org svashaw@mivu.org jeverton@montereyinstitute.org Thank you! For project updates or more information, visit www.NROCMath.org