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! As July 4th approaches, we're celebrating the success of the school year. The year ended with incredible accomplishments from students, educators, and parents who adapted, persevered, and worked hard to overcome obstacles in order to keep learning happening.
June was a busy month at MIND in preparation for our launch. We put finishing touches on the new ST Math, launched the ST Math Academy, and we created many new free instructional resources for educators and families to share and use.
The Developing Our MathMINDs series on the blog continued into week 8, our final week of the first volume of the series. MIND's Lead Mathematician and Product Director, Brandon Smith, and Content Development Manager, Nina Wu, shared their top 10 suggestions for summer math activities.
Twana Young, Director of Product, Instructional Resources shared how ST Math is adaptive, supportive, and meets the learning needs of students. The blog also included Scale Fractions, a free puzzle from the new version of ST Math.
How do more minutes on ST Math matter? A novel study released in June from Proving Ground, part of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, evaluated the effect of increased usage of ST Math - the PreK-8 visual instructional program - within a single school year. They found that increasing usage from fall to spring by more than ten minutes per week correlated to significant higher math gains on multiple state standardized math assessments.
Read more about the Proving Ground study that found higher ST Math usage was associated with higher math gains.
Can a game change how you feel about math? The answer is yes, and the research proves it. The Journal of Research on Technology in Education (JRTE) recently published a rigorous study that found students who play ST Math have higher mathematics self-beliefs than non-ST Math students.
Curious about the new ST Math? MIND's Director of Product, Twana Young, and Senior User Experience Researcher, Alesha Arp, shared how the new ST Math empowers students through individual goal accountability, thus giving them ownership over learning.
This conversation includes a usage calendar for the new ST Math, discussion around how to empower students to set and achieve goals, and how individual goals support differentiation and inclusiveness.
Have you ever wanted to create a game? Calli Wright, game expert and Education Engagement Manager at MIND, shared her expertise. Learn how to create a board game in four steps. From inspiration to publishing, Calli shared game design advice from five published designers at GameSchoolCon 2020.
Maria Cervantes, Community Partnerships Director, said goodbye to MIND after 18 years with the organization. She took time from her busy schedule between work and school, to share life lessons and to reflect on her incredible journey. We wish you all the best, Maria! We're rooting for you.
JiJi and all of us at MIND are wishing you a safe and happy Fourth of July!
And if you're looking for additional resources to keep learning happening all summer long, don't forget to stop by our instructional resources page. There you will find fun summer activities meant to get you moving, learning, and strengthening your mathematical knowledge.
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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