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At Open Up Resources, we love checking our Twitter feed. Often, we get glimpses of our curricula in classrooms, and they give us All The Feels.
We were regularly moved by the feedback from educators about our first openly-licensed curriculum, for 6–8 Math. Tweets about student engagement, student outcomes, time savings, and rich classroom discourse made our days.
We did a year-end survey about the curriculum with our community, to make sure we were hearing a diversity of perspectives, and to listen for improvement opportunities. Then we did a happy dance.
This delighted us most: of the hundreds of educators surveyed, 97% of educators who used the curriculum would recommend it.
Here’s what else we heard about our 6–8 Math curriculum:
Students Gained
This year, Brooke Powers blogged about her outcomes, and we saw other teachers like Nathan Charlton chime in about student gains. We wondered: were others seeing student gains, even in their first year with the new materials?
So we asked – and learned that 45% of teachers who used the curriculum as their core saw improved outcomes this year.
The stories we heard:
“We use a math inventory program that measures student progress 3 times a year. Almost every one of my students saw a large increase in their scores from the fall to the late winter testing session. Some of them finally believe that maybe they can do math after all!”
–Jon Brown, Teacher
Hyde Park, VT
“Sixth grade math state test scores were 65% proficient last year and this year they were at 73% proficient. Seventh grade state test scores were 62% last year and 70% proficient this year!”
–Tammy Sewell, Assistant Principal
Pullman, WA
“I began using Open Up in February of this year and from that time forward, our benchmark scores skyrocketed.”
–Michelle Sawyers, Teacher
Indian Trail, NC
“Student showed marked improvement on understanding of curriculum concepts as measured by NWEA diagnostics. I teach a special education class and lessons were diverse enough to address all needs.”
–Robert Coles, Teacher
Orange, NJ
“My top students grew 6% which is 4% more than last year, and my low group grew 13% which is 4% more than last year.”
–Patricia Maia, Teacher
Providence, RI
“My students went from 20% to 80% proficiency in using ratios to solve problems.”
–Cynthia Deare, Teacher
Lakebay, WA
Teachers Raved
It wasn’t just about the outcomes – the experiences were awesome, too:
“These materials not only challenge students and deepen their understanding of math, but the same is true for teachers as well.”
–Danelle Wright, Teacher
Olympia, WA
“We want students to talk about the math, not just do it. This curriculum provides student centered learning that opens up the dialogue for students to interact with the math.“
–Lindsay Wright, Teacher
Springfield, MO
“[The materials] are super user friendly, very helpful for new teachers or teachers who need a little refresher on what to anticipate before each unit and lesson!”
–Erin Paquette, Teacher
Waterville, VT
“The kids see me have some aha moments right along with them some days!”
–Barbara Barr, Teacher
Santa Barbara, CA
“The visual aspect makes the lessons highly accessible to English Learners and students with special needs.”
–Tobi Nielsen, Teacher
San Jose, CA
“[The curriculum] creates active engagement and motivated students.”
–Michelle Sawyers, Teacher
Indian Trail, NC
Leaders Also Sang Praises
It’s not just the teachers; here’s what we heard from school leaders:
“Though the standards are not new, people all over the country are struggling with implementing them effectively... These resources are spot on. They match the targets exactly. If school systems will use these materials faithfully in the way they are supposed to be used, students will meet standards!”
–Tammy Sewell, Assistant Principal
Pullman, WA
“They are the first materials I've seen that are truly designed for the standards. Not just the content standards, but the shifts (focus, coherence, and rigor) as well as the effective teaching practices.”
–Sue Dalka, Math Coach
Thomaston, CT
“I love it. Very user friendly and hands on learning for students”
–Jaime Gilas, Instructional Coach
Hope Mills, NC
“It’s awesome. It has the support for teachers to use researched-based strategies to increase student engagement.”
–Tamara Smith, Math Coordinator
Bremerton, WA
We’ve heard strong feedback from curriculum users before; last year’s beta release users were quite effusive! Still, we loved hearing the strong feedback paired with wonderful outcomes stories.
More to Come
Lastly, we were delighted to hear that teachers are really excited about the user community we’ll be developing. Watch this space as the summer progresses.
Please drop us a line if you’d like more info about the materials.
