Imagine if you could pause a teacher in class, rewind and watch
a lesson over and over again, until you understood the concept
perfectly. Algebra would be a cinch, geometry a piece of cake and a
high school exit exam would give you no trouble at all.
Imagine if you could pause a teacher in class, rewind and watch a lesson over and over again, until you understood the concept perfectly. Algebra would be a cinch, geometry a piece of cake and a high school exit exam would give you no trouble at all.
That concept is exactly one of the ways Britton Middle School is hoping to help its students sharpen their algebra skills this year through a project called Khan Academy.
Khanacademy.org is a website started in 2004 by Salman Khan, a former hedge fund manager with a background in math and computer science who began the program for his nieces and nephews who needed extra tutoring.
Khan Academy combines more than 2,400 videos and game-like exercises in subjects from basic arithmetic to physics. Once students pass levels by getting 10 consecutive questions correct, they receive a blue badge of proficiency and are allowed to move on to the next round. Videos aid students if they get stuck and need to review a lesson.
Online, teachers or “coaches” can see from their menu how many minutes in one classroom session students spent on one topic. Students can also log in at home. According to Khan Academy’s website, more than 1 million students a month use the site, viewing up to 200,000 videos a day. The Gates Foundation and Google have both donated to the program, which is free to anyone.
Of the 309 eighth graders at Britton that took the required Algebra 1 California Standardized Test in 2011, only 26 percent scored ‘proficient’ or above. In comparison, of the 541 students that took the Algebra 1 CST in 2011 at both Live Oak and Sobrato High Schools, 11 percent scored proficient or above.
The Stepping Up to Algebra/Math Acceleration program by the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, Alearn and the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley sponsored a summer class this year that included 90 students at Britton and 120 from South Valley Middle School in Gilroy. Along with regular curriculum and lectures, Stepping Up also used the Khan Academy website. Richard Punches, a math teacher at Britton for 17 years who taught one of the classes this summer, said the Khan Academy website helped students.
“That piece of it (Khan Academy) was the most interesting part of the summer from my perspective and the students,” he said. “A lot of them in there need to work on basic skills and that tool seemed to help.”
Those that took the Stepping Up to Algebra classes this summer were comprised of teacher-recommended students that needed more help, or were right on the borderline of being proficient, said Connie Skipitares of the Silicon Valley Education Foundation. There were 10 classes with an average of 20 students in each.
Punches said the Stepping Up To Algebra program itself was helpful to students, but needed more work curriculum-wise.
“Most of my hours this summer were spent trying to figure what it is they were trying to use in their lessons and figure it out in terms I could use,” he said. “So the program itself was not the best.”
The Khan Academy website would only serve as a supplemental resource for the 2011-2012 school year, said Britton Principal Glen Webb. The state-approved and school board adopted curriculum would remain in place during regular class time, Webb said.
“My biggest frustration, is you have every (8th grade) student in algebra. The ones that need the most support, the only place they’re going to get that is before school,” said Punches. “During the day, we have to teach Algebra. We have 180 different lessons to get through.”
Punches said Britton is looking into before school or after school intervention programs that will make use of Khan Academy in the school’s new computer lab. Webb said the lab, which will have 40 stations and drop-in hours, is expected to be in use in two weeks.
Superintendent Wes Smith said the district is always on the lookout for new methods that may help students.
“The Morgan Hill Unified School District is continually looking for effective ways to support student learning at school and at home. We are excited to analyze data and evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention.”
Britton’s department chair, Patricia Finck, said she was disappointed but not surprised that many students didn’t score proficient or above in 2011 test results.
“It is really difficult to move students who are truly unprepared and sometimes several grades behind in their math and reading skills up to a proficient level in one year,” she said. “One of the biggest problems that we are having is that there is a growing number of students that don’t care about school and we can’t seem to find the right program to change this.”
