It's best to use i-Ready to gather data on yourstudents that will be helpful as you differentiate the instruction in your class. The deep dive intodatacan help savvy teachers target instruction, build intervention groups, and track their instruction effectiveness. Consider using i-Ready to fill in gapsin students' learningor even push some learners to the next level. i-Ready will suggest up to five groupings for your class and provide instructional ideas and suggestions.
Depending on your classroom setup,you could use an i-Ready stationwherestudents rotate throughwhile others work on activities and conferences with you.Have yourstudents use the reports to reflect on their learning and set goals. These reports could also be helpful when meeting with parents. Keep in mind that you could also useindividual i-Ready lessons projected for the whole class as part of your instruction around a topic.
A significant issue around programs like i-Ready is when they're overused. Student and teacher burnout on adaptive programs like i-Ready can be a problem. When this happens, its usefulness as an instructional and assessment tool is significantly diminished. i-Ready wasn't developed to replace teacher instruction or an already established curriculum; it's meant to be used as a supplement to teaching. The developers recommend45 minutes per subject per week, which is best split into two or three sessions, though a teacher may need to adjust this to keep i-Ready effective.
i-Ready is a set ofCommon Core State Standards-based (or state standards, for non-CCSS states) diagnostic and instructional tools for math and reading. Upon starting the program, students take an adaptive placement test. i-Ready then uses this data to create individualized instructional pathways for each student. Teachers can let i-Ready personalize instruction on its own,or they can customize the experience for individual students, groups of students, or even anentire class.Teachers can expect tohave fine-graincontrol over the lessons taughtand the overall scope and sequence for their students. Additionally, i-Ready offers teachers a range of diagnostic reports. Data is provided on growth, performance, instructional progress, and more.i-Ready will provide suggested live instruction activities, groups, and lessons. Teachers should closely monitor student work on i-Ready to make sure its algorithms respond appropriately to students' needs.
After students finishthe diagnostic test, theirexperience is friendly. The programincludes a simplified dashboard where students can pick a theme anda coachand even have learning material read to them. Each lesson includes a diverse cast ofanimated characters that walk students through every task. Lessons startwith an overview of the learning objectives, followed by a guided learning experience. Kids can review lessons at any pointbut won't be able to skip ahead. In math, many tasks are aimed athelping kids develop conceptual understanding across a range of topics. In the reading program,students will read with the aid of anotepad, a dictionary, and someannotation tools. The review sample provided by i-Ready uses authentic texts, and math concepts are presented in real-world contexts. There's also closed captioning and some Spanish content. In the games section, teachers might recognize what were formerly Motion Math apps.
i-Ready is a great bet for an adaptive, supplemental learning tool. Its main strength lies in diagnosing students' needs, and then targeting personalizedpractice and instruction for each individual. Teachers' ability to further personalize and customize the experience is key here, whether for individual students, groups, or an entire class. As students work their way through lessons, they'll interact with animations every few minutes. This could help some kids maintain focus, though others could tire and want to get on with the lesson. Throughout, the instant feedback to students is helpfuland includes both audio and visual supports. i-Ready's question types align well with what kids might encounter on Common Core or state assessments. It's reasonable to see i-Ready as a test-prep solution, though it does aim to teach conceptual understanding. Nevertheless, teachers should not rely on i-Ready to meet every instructional need their students have.
The program offers teachers a comprehensive look at student data, giving a clear view of students' overall growth and achievement. Ideally, this will help teachers plan in a way that meets real classroom needs. Printable lesson plans are available, should teachers want them. Also, the system's reports offer a range of data.i-Ready clearly has spent some time making this data organized and easily accessible for teachers, allowing them to find the information they want. Overall, i-Ready delivers learning content engagingly and rigorously. This combination will likely serve kids well if -- and here's the catch -- teachers use i-Ready with fidelity alongside their own quality classroom instruction.
