Program Design Principles
In order to make the software more useful to learners of all ability levels, the authors adhere to certain design guidelines.
- Never talk down to the learner. The student may be learning a concept for the first time, or reviewing it as part of that process, or re-learning the concept at some later grade level, or might even be an adult working toward a high school equivalency diploma. We want all students to benefit from the software.
- While being sure to use proper yet simple and clear mathematical language, we try to keep the screen as clean as possible while using as little text on the screen as we can. (For the primary grades we do not assume students can read, so Understanding Numeration "talks" them through each lesson.)
- A high level of interactivity must engage and stimulate learners. Students need to learn by doing - not memorizing.
- We expect every student to answer every question. Unlike a classroom situation, software allows us to design an environment that helps every student with feedback specific to his or her needs as they work through to understanding.
- A mistake is an opportunity for learning. Programs are designed to be "gentle" teachers.If the answer is wrong, we will give the student individual help in arriving at the correct answer.
- Programs need to offer multiple ways of learning in order to accommodate a wide range of learning abilities.
- Use on-screen manipulatives so that learning can take place from the Concrete to Abstract.
- Accommodate all learners. Write for the "advanced" to the "at-risk" learner. This is a flexible learning resource (eg. remediation, general classroom use, home study).
- Design the programs so that they are adaptable to many different instructional settings (individual - student centered - teacher centered).
- Create a learning environment that encourages student communication,student responsibility,and active student and teacher participation.
Alignment with Standards
Programs are aligned with many State, Provincial and National Standards. We work with district curricula and some textbook series. Educators can access these correlations from our website.
Assessment and Management Tools within the Programs
Three tools are available for teachers and students to check understanding within Understanding Math:
- In each topic: Randomly generated Practice Questions with individual feedback.
- In each topic: Randomly generated Topic Tests which summarize performance. These can be used as pre and/or post tests. They are also recorded by the software for teacher access to results.
- At the end of each program: Random Cumulative Tests which summarize performance. Recorded by computer for teacher access to results.
Professional Learning Series
Based on this review of the literature, the NLSI Professional Learning Series is structured around statements that guide our actions when teaching teachers. These practices embody those aspects that Wells (2007) and Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman and Yoon (2001) identified as critical to the successful implementation of teacher learning and are consistent with the core beliefs of NLSI. NLSI Professional Learning Series is dedicated to achieving student success through inquiry based activities.
Click here to find out more about professional development from Neufeld Learning Systems.
Research Support
Since 1991, the core development of Understanding Math has stemmed from sound classroom pedagogy. The design process is consistently set in motion with reference to Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM). It is the teacher who manages the extreme number of variables that influence the effectiveness of any available resource. Current long-range efforts show an ability to duplicate successful classroom results, and to improve student achievement within a variety of socio-economic environments. This has been realized in numerous classrooms across North America. The Understanding Math programs allow teachers to make data-driven decisions. The data and general feedback received to date indicate dramatic improvements in student development and in educator effectiveness.
Support Sheets
There are Support Sheets on our website for every topic. These can be used with many different approaches within many different instructional settings. They can be used for off-computer follow-up or used along with the lesson on the computer.
What Educators Say
We have received many helpful suggestions over the years which we have used to improve and expand on the Understanding Math series. We have also heard from many teachers how they are integrating the programs into their classrooms and with this page we hope to share these ideas so that they can be adopted. As always, we invite you to share with us your comments and your experiences while using the Understanding Math series. We appreciate your feedback, and with your permission, would like to include it on our website.
The following are some of the comments recently made by educators who are using our products:
"In 2002-2003, I implemented the Understanding Math programs. Teachers used the Understanding Math programs once a week for 50 minutes...mainly as an acceleration tool.
We also used the Understanding Math software in our after- school program. I have worked with several software packages in my 21 year career, but in my opinion
the U Math software is the best. It is a perfect fit for our kids and our teachers. We had an increase in last year's 6th grade math PACT scores that are three times the state average."
--C.D. Math Specialist in South Carolina
"Pinellas County has used Understanding Math in a variety of ways including teacher training, whole class instruction, and individualized instruction. New teachers benefit
from seeing multiple strategies for teaching concepts. Students who attend the Jump Start Algebra Summer Program benefit from working with visual models related to prerequisite skills needed for success in Algebra I. I learn something new every time I work with the program."
-- S.D. Florida Mathematics Supervisor
"I purchased Understanding Math for my school after investigating many math software programs. I am glad I did. This program is used in the classroom to
reinforce teaching and learning. The graphics are effective and very engaging. This program illustrates mathematical concepts with many different approaches and
within many different contexts. It helps teachers to clarify math concepts and gives them new insights into how to teach mathematics. I also see this software program
as an effective tool for student enrichment and for engaging parents in their child's mathematical education."
--C.J. Ontario K to 8 school principal.
"Understanding Math has exceeded my expectations. This is what I've been waiting for. Some of my students have progressed in math by 2 to 3 years in 4 months. Usually, these are
my students who come in at a 3rd or 4th grade level and leave at 6th or 7th grade level. We intake students ages 13-18 at academic skills levels from Kindergarten through 12th grade.
My students get on the program, many at different levels at one time and they forget about time because they enjoy it, and they are LEARNING!!!!"
-- L.A. at a Juvenile Work and Learn Center
"The product is exceptional. The wonderful manipulatives help my student teachers to understand concepts and then to teach their students using the many different strategies."
-- teacher college educator