Each month on the MIND blog, we share stories of how our organization, our partners, and educators across the country are advancing the mission to mathematically equip all students to solve the world’s most challenging problems. We also share resources for educators and students, and cover some of the exciting events we take part in across the country.
Welcome to the MIND Blog Rewind! The world has changed so much since our last round-up. Schools across the country are closed, many for the remainder of the academic year. Teachers, parents, and students are adapting to remote learning at home. And since March 14, ST Math has provided no-cost access to over 1.8 million students.
One of my favorite things to come out of April was the launch of an incredible resource for families, called Developing Our MathMINDs. Developing Our MathMINDs is a series of conversations and resources about math that is intended to be a journey of growth with families over several weeks.
Each week, MIND's Lead Mathematician and Product Director, Brandon Smith, and Content Development Manager, Nina Wu, are talking about the adjustments families are making to learning at home, and the opportunities this situation provides for changing our relationship with math.
For week one, we covered a variety of topics, all related to making the adjustment to learning at home, and embracing the opportunities that this new situation presents. In week two we shared a glossary and overview of mathematical terms and concepts for families. Week three featured Brandon and Nina explaining informative feedback, how it's built into the ST Math learning model, and also how to infuse it into any learning activity.
You can follow the entire series here on our blog, and watch the videos on our Youtube channel.
The Developing Our MathMINDs series is not the only resource we've shared this month. We also celebrated International Dance Day with some great activities around movement through math. Nina is not only our Content Development Manager at MIND, she's also a professional dancer! And she helped all of us get creative and mathematical with our movements in a four-part video series that you can find on our blog and the Learning at Home Youtube playlist.
Our partner Rockwell Automation has also been doing incredible work to support students beyond the classroom. Now that many families are leading the learning for their students, Rockwell Automation and their Global STEM Ambassador Jay Flores are continuing to come up with creative ways to support STEM learning at home. Check out this fun, at-home family math activity that Jay recorded in English and in Spanish.
JiJi is the beloved penguin in the ST Math program and in April, we celebrated JiJi Day! JiJi Day is an opportunity to celebrate and foster a school culture based on the principles associated with JiJi: perseverance through challenges, a love of learning, and the thrill of success. It also happens to be JiJi's birthday!
Though the celebrations looked a little different this year, Calli Wright, Education Engagement Manager, shared her ideas for celebrating at home. From wearing a costume, to going on a scavenger hunt, JiJi's friends all across the world celebrated with us and we loved it!
#Jijiday @NISDPassmore was celebrated yesterday! Thank you to all who participated and shared pics! We love Jiji at Passmore! @STMath @NISDElemMath @ArteagaPhD https://t.co/8iIGUHxZo7
— Noemi Gonzales (@Bilingualadv) April 24, 2020
#JiJiDay On this gloomy rainy day we celebrate our love for #JiJi and @STMath Found as much color as we could bc JiJi brightens our days. We hope everyone’s wishes come true. @Meadowbschool pic.twitter.com/xfqYYu8QAI
— Leigh Boland (@leigh_boland) April 24, 2020
In January, we announced the new ST Math, including a streamlined student experience, powerful teacher experience, and a simplified implementation process for administrators. Senior User Experience Researcher, Alesha Arp, shared the research that drove the redesign of the new ST Math to bring actionable data easily to teachers.
We also released a new podcast episode, called Demystifying Edtech Research With Dr. Molly Zielezinski. Brian LeTendre, Director of Content and Communications, sat down with Dr. Molly Zielezinski, CEO of MBZ Labs and co-author of "Debunking the Gold Standard Myths in Edtech Efficacy."
Molly shared her background and provided insights into the process of making research more usable for edtech companies, educators, and administrators. You can listen to all episodes of Inside Our MIND podcast on our website.
Many of you know by now that we decided to provide no-cost access to ST Math for families, schools, and districts during these school closures. We also committed to providing additional resources, and part of that support is a new guide to Coronavirus-related funding from Liz Neiman, Vice President of Engagement.
The resource for educators seeking Coronavirus-related funding opportunities for distance learning measure helps to break down what is available, and covers the new CARES Act options like ESSERF, as well as ESEA Title I flexibility. It also includes more information around ED guidance, and further links to helpful resources around funding.
A huge thank you is in order to our parents, teachers, administrators, and students for being dedicated to learning and innovation at a lightning speed. We're proud of you, and JiJi is too.
We have so many wonderful, inspiring, and educational resources in the works to help teachers, administrators, parents, and students. Stay tuned and subscribe to the blog so that you don't miss them.
Jolene Haley was the Content and Community Specialist at MIND Research Institute. In addition to creating content for MIND, she is an author, avid reader, and lover of iced coffee.
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