1) How do you ensure that good work ethic is being used and strategies are being shown?
I could never guarantee that strategies were being shown since I was typically working with a small group while students were on Education Galaxy. At the beginning of the year, students would take the diagnostic assessment (down one level). I’d print their report for them, and they’d keep it in their files (I had a file organizer pocket chart for each class). Students were taught they could only work on their yellow and red (some study required/critical need) skills. As they finished a task, they were asked to write their score beside the skill on their report. At any given time, I could pull a student’s report out of their file to track that they were on task and being responsible. At middle of the year, students would take the diagnostic assessment on grade level, and we’d follow the same procedures as above.
2) How often do you utilize it in the classroom?
After completing the diagnostic assessments, Education Galaxy remained a constant in my stations. The number of tasks required depended on the student and their individual needs. Usually students would be asked to complete 1-2 lessons per week.
Occasionally, I’d also assign the whole group a lesson especially if our district unit test data showed that a skill was low across the board.
3) What is the home use like for your students?
I never required home use for my students; however, there is always a family or two that requests extra things to do at home. To accommodate this request, I’d send a list of skills we’d already taught/learned in class and asked families to only focus on those skills. I didn’t want them spending time on anything we hadn’t touched on in class yet. I also kept this list posted in my classroom for those students who completed the lessons required based on their diagnostic reports and wanted to know what else they could practice.
4) What do you guys use to motivate the students?
We didn’t have to do much to motivate the students since they already loved the program so much! Ed Galaxy would occasionally show up with treats for the class if a student reached a certain status. My partner teacher would offer prizes/treats for students who had earned a certain number of stars. What you offer would depend on the interests of your students.
I’m sure I’ve missed something. My new role doesn’t allow me to use Education Galaxy anymore, but I LOVE it and think that it’s an amazing tool for students and teachers!
