Individualized Learning Best Practices

Introduction

In Classworks, individualized learning and classroom instruction is where the magic happens. 

Classworks uses assessment data to individualize learning for all students. Based on their assessment results, each student receives an Individualized Learning Path focused on the skills they are ready to learn. This may be a Classworks assessment, or one of our nationally-recognized partners like Renaissance or NWEA. 

Teachers

1. Set student expectations for work completed in Classworks. Classworks recommends: 

  • A minimum of 30 minutes spent weekly on individualized learning in each content area.

  • An average of two to three individualized learning units mastered (80% or higher) weekly in each content area.

  • A minimum average of 80% mastery of the individualized learning unit score. The charts below show the impact 80% mastery has on growth! 

  • This totals 18 hours over the school year, on average, per student. 

Students with the time and mastery always show significant increase in growth when compared with students not using Classworks, and when compared with growth norms. See the data.





2. Each teacher should have a plan to provide additional time to students not meeting the threshold for mastery of units.

  1. Examples:
    1. Students log in as soon as the bus drops them off in the morning and before bus call in the afternoon.
    2. Students complete additional units as homework if technology is available
    3. Students take the first 15 minutes of silent reading to complete a reassigned Classworks skill


3. Ensure students’ time in Classworks is impactful. 

  1. Monitor
    1. Intentional monitoring of student progress and reassigning assignments as needed to meet the 80% target. How to monitor.
    2. Provide time for students to review and reflect on their performance.
    3. Encourage students to redo activities when they complete them earning less than 80%.
    4. Use the filters in Individual Learning to prioritize students for support. Using filters.
    5. Conference: Discuss student performance, set expectations for success. These can be less than 30-second conversations! 
  1. Increase parent awareness of Classworks
    1. Include Classworks in discussions during Open House and Curriculum Night events.
    2. Share the video below with parents and encourage them to support their child’s work and celebrate their progress. 

  1. Motivate
    1. Have students set achievement goals within Classworks and celebrate when those goals are attained. 
    2. Implement weekly routines and goal setting to help students set goals and take ownership of their data and learning. 

Site Administrator

Set teacher expectations for an ideal individualized learning environment, including the teacher’s role. 

1. Each principal should know when the students will be using Classworks each week.

Examples 

  • During centers in the classroom, on a rotating schedule each week.

  • During a pullout intervention period.

  • In the computer lab weekly. Rotating subjects each week.

2. Include Classworks performance in existing school-wide incentives and initiatives. 

Examples

3. During classroom walk-throughs, observe students working on Classworks. You should see teachers: 

  • Monitoring student progress

  • Conferencing with students about their scores 

  • Reassigning lessons if they are falling below expectations 

4. In staff meetings, discuss student progress and successes

5. Add Classworks-specific achievements to school announcements or newsletters

6. Observe reward systems in classrooms

7. Data - Work with your Classworks C&I to determine how you will look at data each month

Examples

  • View data live in the Classworks dashboard. Use the filters by class to coach each teacher on what you see. 

  • Incorporate Classworks reports in data meetings. 

  • Connect Classworks data to larger school or district data initiatives.

  • Look at the data from the Skills Summary report by class to ensure students are completing six units a month and all mastery averages are 80% or higher. 

  • Look at the same data for the whole school -- it will automatically sort by grade. 

District Administrator 

Identify a district-level point person for principals to work with to facilitate ongoing communication about how Classworks is being implemented.

The ideal Classworks district champion:

  • Is engaged with their Classworks Account Manager

  • Subscribes to the Classworks YouTube channel

  • Subscribes to the Classworks blog, status.classworks.com, and Classworks social media

  • Participates in Classworks’ free regional conferences 

  • Attends Classworks sessions at state conferences 

  1. Incorporates conversations focused on Insights Dashboards into their monthly data focused conversations.

Teachers have the important role of monitoring, conferencing with students, and reassigning skills until students meet the 80% threshold. 


Even when reassigning units, students working for 30 minutes per week have plenty of time to redo units and still meet the two to three unit threshold per week.

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