A guest post from the math experts at BlueStreak Math

The past 15 years have been revolutionary in our understanding of student learning, especially in mathematics. As new studies emerge on the impact of fluency on student performance and researchers identify more impactful ways to support and sustain learning, it’s critical that we refresh our understanding of math fluency and adapt our methods for teaching math to maximize student success. 

The ability to read with fluency and comprehension is THE foundational academic skill that leads to all others. Despite the importance, reading performance in the US has been stagnant for decades. In 2022, only 32% of 4th graders demonstrated proficiency in early literacy skills. 

So, you have identified students needing a support plan, created goals, selected and implemented appropriate interventions, and collected data using a progress monitoring tool or assessment. Fantastic! These are all necessary steps to supporting students through your Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS).

A critical part of education is helping students build the life skills and resiliency they need to complete high school and successfully transition to adult life. Branching Minds partners with The Jed Foundation (JED) to bring practical resources to high school classrooms that are informed by direct research with high school students about what they need as they graduate. These areas include:

Just as your mechanic has the diagnostics and tools needed to keep your car running smoothly, Branching Minds has all the features you need to monitor and fine-tune your students’ learning plans!

As a teacher in a Title 1 school, many of my students lagged behind in meeting benchmarks each year. To teach them my grade level standards, I began by attempting to remediate missed learning. However, their progress was limited. Attempting to backtrack to their level just took too much time and resulted in frustration and disengagement. In order to achieve more within the year, I began to use the accelerated learning approach by integrating the required concepts for specific standards into the current lesson. I saw increased student engagement and achievement. And when I started using Proficiency Scales, my students’ motivation soared!

Throughout the 2022-23 school year, as our school partners created intervention plans, they have been using the Branching Minds intervention library to find and document student supports. We’ve surveyed the data about the most used interventions in our library, how they are used, and what that can tell us about current trends in MTSS interventions.

Branching Minds is excited to partner with The Jed Foundation (JED) to bring essential resources to high school classrooms through the Branching Minds Support Library. Informed by direct research with high school students about what they need as they graduate, these new support cards offer concrete tips, tools, and resources on a comprehensive range of topics geared toward helping students manage the transition out of high school. Carefully curated and evidence-based, these resources provide teachers and students with accessible and actionable advice to aid in this critical — and often difficult — transition. 

Do you ever feel like Goldilocks when creating student plans? It’s challenging to find the intervention that is “juuust right” to help each student grow. That’s why Branching Minds offers a curated Intervention Library filled with research-based supports matched to a student’s unique profile. Here are five ways the Branching Minds library helps you find and implement “just right” interventions for your students.

Accelerated learning is currently one of the hottest keywords in education. It is hailed as the hero to address “learning loss” and large instructional gaps. Some states have even gone as far as adopting it into their educational policies, hoping to help students catch up to grade-level benchmarks.