Quotes

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Massachusetts Secretary of Education, Paul Reville

"We are here to talk about a particular innovation that happens to be *spot on* with the kinds of things that Secretary Duncan and the president are talking about"

From Education Leaders

"Thanks again for a great workshop yesterday! The Assistments system is extremely flexible and powerful…the features are never-ending." Laura Tilton with the Southeast DSAC

From Teachers

• "Assistments is allowing me to have literally 3 strands of math in one class (honors Algebra I, Algebra I and the 2nd half of Algebra I) I would NEVER be able to do this without assistments!!" Andrea Harvey 9th Grade teacher Maine.

• "This whole program has made such HUGE difference for my 'at risk' classes" Andrea Harvey 9th Grade teacher Maine.

• "We love the site and use it quite often." Teacher Terry Hickey Maranacook ME

• "Thank you so much for this. You have no idea how much this is going to help my students!" Andrea Harvey, Maine.
• After being asked by a reporter about ASSISTments "I have been reflecting on my use of ASSISTments now that I have completed my first full year. First, I did not realize how many different ways I use ASSISTments and the data. Second, the use of ASSISTments is so infinite that I find it difficult to tell people in a summary how I use it. I have been reflecting on some of [the reporter's] questions for me, how do I use it, how should K12 districts use it. I could easily talk for an hour and only give an overview. I listed all the ways I am using it today without my future ideas and I have ten ways. :) ASSISTments seems to start with a small routine and then grow into a tool that serves the individual needs of each teacher, school andd district. I am impressed it has only been a year and how much ASSISTments has influenced my teaching and planning routines, not to mention how it changed my students. A final note, we did a year end benchmark on Galileo this week. My students are so accustomed to feedback they were annoyed at not getting feedback. I had to tell them the correct answers afterwards. This tells me that many of my students really own their learning thanks to ASSISTments. 6th grade math teacher. Sat, 11 Jun 2011 08:52:26 -0400

• [This email was in responce to the first teacher who tried our new tutor interface]. Just wanted to let everyone know ... we had my Algebra classes use the new tutor. I LOVED it! There is a progress bar on the left hand side that allows me to easily scan how the students are doing, really helpful to view progress with skill builders! I also liked the way the new tutor presented the questions and hints/tutoring. Very nice and slick layout! Looking forward to summer work getting to know the new tutor!" Math teacher: Fri, 10 Jun 2011 17:33:17 -0400

• "I used assistments today for an open-response question about electricity and circuits. We looked at the responses whole class anonymously and even cut and pasted one response into word and revised it to make it a 4. WOW! How powerful. Next week I'm going to try it again and have the kids score or two. Ask Tom what he thought. I was super nervous because I wasn't sure how it would work, but it DID. I love your program." 4th grade teacher Shrewsbury MA.

• "My students are doing homework on Assistments every night now, beginning each class viewing reports with students, working on problems from the reports. This routine is driving my instruction. I wonder "HOW did I do this before?" Did I just hope I was on target???" Teacher Bellingham MA

• "I feel comfortable enough to introduce my teachers and get them started. The Assistments is so intuitive and user friendly." Teacher Bellingham MA.

• "I absolutely love the objectivity of the computer as brought to life for me via ASSISTments. I know the students were challenged by the idea of real accountability... they could not just throw some stuff on paper, as with a normal textbook assignment, and "pretend" they did the homework... the computer held them accountable... it told them they had begun or not begun, they could not "fake" it, and this reality was uncomfortable for many of them who clearly have gotten by in the past by complaining or whatever..." From a High school teacher in Pembroke NH

• "“Using Assistment has made class run much more efficiently. It highlights areas of comprehension and misconceptions that need to be readdressed." Courtney Mulcahy 8th grade teacher

• "The ability to view student results in "real-time" is invaluable and has had a profound effect on my teaching style. " Donna Lee Tignor High School teacher.

• "Thanks!!!! I really love how you guys take feedback and try to improve the system to make our lives easier. The program has evolved tremendously over the past year and a half. Also I love the unfinished report!" Courtney Mulcahy 8th grade teacher.

• "We did the COOLEST thing today with ASSISTments. We had a school-wide math challenge and I put questions into ASSISTments. The kids worked in teams on 8 math challenges and had to put their answers into the website. I heard the word fun more than once!! So cool!!!!!" School Math coordinator Fairfield ME.

• "I know what I will be doing this summer.......getting more familiar with this program!" From a teacher who attended a workshop in June.

• Dear Cris,I wanted to thank you and your husband for ASSISTment - I am currently tutoring a 7th grade student in math and she is using the program at her school. She is enthusiastic about using the program because it allows her to focus on one item at a time. I like it because there are no distractions from the actual learning. Tonight she completed a Homework assignment and a review quiz. We are still learning the different components (i.e. the tutor section) - but overall I think it is one of the best math support programs that I have seen. Thank you for all of your hard work at creating a program that children, parents and educators can use to enhance the learning of children in the classroom. Sincerely,Brenda Dubrey

• Thanks so much, Cristina. I was science MS science coordinator in Shrewsbury before I came to Medway, so my current superintendent Judy Evans, suggested assistments as a great tool to help with our middle school math intervention program. We have just started using it, and I LOVE it! The feedback is so valuable, and the students are completely engaged. Thank you so much, Mette Medway Public Schools

• I just want to say that the suggestions for the first time using assistments were incredibly helpful ( click here to see those suggestions). I usually assume that what can go wrong will go wrong when introducing some new technology tool. I introduced the program to all my eighth graders yesterday, and seventh graders today, with nary a hitch. :) Marie Snyder, Profile School District NH.

Used in Secondary Ed

• "I have been using ASSISTments throughout the semester to do practice interview questions with my secondary math methods students. We basically did 1 question or so every other class as a warm up or cool down at the end of class. I just use the open-ended essay option and we have a discussion about the answers." Professor of Education Colorado.

Comments about Homework

• "The students enjoy getting the instant feedback on their HW. I have noticed that they have become much more confident math students. On the flip side, when they get an answer wrong, they are passionate about finding the correct answer. There are times when a student cannot identify the correct answer on their own at home and come into school first thing fired up about what they are doing wrong and why. The instant feedback creates a determination to correctly solve the problem. This is a very rich learning experience and the students end up taking away the correct methodology to solving a problem." Courtney Mulcahy

Poems

Saxon Math was here but now it’s gone, Math Literacy Stations were left alone!

Not any more! ASSISTments just walked through the door!

Want to improve math comprehension? Go see Mrs. Hill’s class working with no apprehension.

She’s teaching more, testing and grading less with growth galore! Staff Development, PLC’s, and Performance data It’s the way to go as we continue to grow! Kimberly Scott, NELA Fellow Jacqueline Hill, Bearfiled 3rd grade teacher.

From Parents

• "Thanks for the message. I agree with you that math is very beneficial with practice. I feel that the ASSISTment program has been a wonderful tool for the students, but it also can be a bit frustrating at times. I have tried to teach Brad that it is all part of the learning process and that practicing will make you feel more confident and be a better problem solver. I wish this program was available when I was in school as I feel it would have helped with my lack of confidence in math. Thanks again to you and all of the other wonderful teachers on 8 white. This truly has been an incredible year for Brad. Keep up the good work and I appreciate all that you do." from a Parent of a student user

• "At the end of the last school year, I was looking for a way to tutor Nick over the summer vacation. I found ASSISTments to be a wonderful tool in that effort. I did use many of the assignments included in the program, but most of the worksheets I assigned Nick were my own designed to target those areas where he is weakest. It was enormously helpful that I could tutor him during phone calls, he at home on his computer and I on mine. We also had face-to-face sessions once a week. Our final, pre-school review was yesterday. While we're not out of the woods just yet, I am happy to tell you that Nick understands math concepts much better. More important, he has started to look at math as a challenge which can actually be fun instead of something to be dreaded. I'm hopeful that the positive reinforcement he's gotten from ASSISTments' bright, green check marks have helped him turn the corner. We intend to continue to use ASSISTments regularly during the school year." From a grandmother who was a math major and wanted to help her grandson love math too.

From Other Sources

• Computing Technology for Math Excellence has mentioned us on their website. This website is devoted to the standards movement and integrating technology into teaching and learning and in K-12 mathematics and calculus. Find software and sites for basic skills, problem solving, homework assistance, games/simulations, virtual manipulatives, project-based learning, standardized testing, technology integration, multimedia development, web design, math initiatives, math methodology, professional development, research, including No Child Left Behind. Accessibility resources are included.

"The combination of WPI’s ASSISTments system and their collaborative relationships with numerous schools and teachers provides an incredible testbed for designing and evaluating ... instructional materials. There is no place else in the country where such a capability exists.” James Pellegrino, National Academy of Education

This page was created by Cristina Heffernan