Irvine, Calif., Aug. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MIND Research Institute (MIND) has introduced new ST Math® advancements that make the visual instructional program even more accessible, engaging and impactful. Additions include a brand new feature called ST Math Chats that promotes academic discourse by bringing ST Math puzzles into the classroom for whole class discussion, as well as optimized ST Math content, new resources for teachers and coaches, and a growing ST Math community of educators.
“We have a team of researchers, designers and engineers constantly evaluating ST Math and looking at ways to improve our content to maximize efficacy and student engagement,” said Matt Feldmann, MIND’s Vice President of Product. “We look at data such as pre- and post-quiz growth and how much time students spend on each objective to pinpoint areas where we can improve the students’ learning experience. We’re excited to introduce new ST Math features to make the process of teaching and learning math as successful as possible.”
ST Math Chats
ST Math Chats are 25- to 30-minute lessons that utilize 1:1 or 2:1 technology to create an interactive learning and sharing experience that begins with visual models or puzzles. Using MIND’s “play, discuss, apply” model, these lessons designate time for students to play an ST Math game, participate in whole-class discussion, and then apply what they’ve learned to a math problem that concludes the lesson.
ST Math Chats will be available for the 2019-2020 school year in open beta for no additional charge to current customers as well as those signing on during the year. The lessons are standards-aligned for grades three through five, and designed for easy implementation. Educators can use ST Math Chats to introduce a new topic, deepen understanding, or review a topic. Each lesson provides opportunities for whole-class, small-group, and partner discussion. Guided questions offer suggestions on how to spark conversation every step of the way.
“We believe academic discourse is a critical part of the learning process, so we designed ST Math Chats to inspire rich math discussions that reinforce and deepen conceptual understanding,” said Brett Woudenberg, MIND’s CEO. “Math Chats were designed with teachers in mind. It lets them easily take the ST Math approach from a 1:1 or 1:2 environment into a group lesson that is ‘ready to go.’ Teachers already using Math Chats have told us that the feature has immediately impacted their math instruction and saves them time without requiring extra planning.”
Optimized ST Math Content
This year, ST Math users will see some updates to specific games and quizzes, in addition to grade 3 standards alignment for certain states (FL, IN, MN, NJ, PA, TX, VA). All of these updates can be viewed through test drive, a feature that lets teachers and coaches access all of the games in their curriculum.
Game updates include: fractions on the number line, unknowns in two-step problems, multi-digit multiplication, multi-digit division, addition and subtraction within 1,000,000 and place value powers of 10.
Quiz revisions include: two step situations, multi-digit division, number line and line plots.
New Resources for Teachers and Coaches
ST Math Central is the hub for user resources, trainings, and questions about ST Math. This year, the following have been added to or improved in ST Math Central:
- Coaching corner - new collections of resources specifically for coaches and administrators.
- Self-Guided online courses planner
- Resources for fostering data discussions
- Culture and celebrations resources
- On-demand webinars - new on-demand topics include bringing JiJi into your math block, test prep with ST Math, and Stretch-a-Block game roundtable.
- Promoting discourse - more ways to bring math discourse into the classroom using visual models from ST Math.
- Writing in ST Math - new writing activities, including: exit tickets, math journals, and special ST Math projects.
- Planner - plan out your implementation for this upcoming school year.
MIND will also offer agnostic and program-specific professional development courses focused on developing math content knowledge and instructional leadership. Topics include: program training, maximizing ST Math, professional learning, instructional leadership, and coaching and support.
A Growing ST Math Community of Educators
ST Math educators and coaches can join the ST Math Community on Facebook to share and learn online with their ST Math peers from across the country. This group will keep members up to date on ST Math news, share tips and tricks, and present challenges where participants can win prizes from the JiJi Store.
Learn more about ST Math: stmath.com/demo
About MIND Research Institute
MIND Research Institute is a neuroscience and education social impact organization, dedicated to ensuring that all students are mathematically equipped to solve the world’s most challenging problems. MIND is the creator of ST Math®, a Pre-K-8 visual instructional program that leverages the brain's innate spatial-temporal reasoning ability to solve mathematical problems. ST Math's unique, patented approach provides equitable access to deep conceptual learning for all students. MIND has also developed programs under MathMINDs to provide students, teachers and families dynamic ways to actively engage with math, and to close the experience gap for all learners. MathMINDs includes Family Game Nights, the national K-12 Game-a-thon and MathMINDs Games. For more information, visit mindresearch.org.
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