Why Show Me?

The purpose of my TLP project was to increase student achievement in math through interactive student learning. I wanted the students to be able to apply and display there learning in a way that allowed for the learners to review misconceptions, strategy preferences, and the steps in which other students take to solve problems. I used an interactive white board iPad application called Show Me to have students (and teachers) create videos to show how they solved and discussed a math problem.

• Introduction to Show Me
  • I created many videos explaining how I solved a problem or used a specific strategy to practice a skill. These videos served as models for student videos and teaching tools as we began exploring new math concepts. I also used these videos to show parents at conferences how a new strategy could be applied to solve a math problem.
• Extra Support
  • Students who need extra support with a skill can watch a video (at school or at home). Many times I would select a student created video to show another student for an explanation of the concept. Sometimes kids can explain it better!
• Cooperative Learning at Centers
  • Many videos students created with a partner. They created videos during our center time and used structured sentence frames and question stems to structure their discussions. This help students learn from each other and work with others. The partners also hold each other accountable for the use of appropriate vocabulary through structured question and answer cards.
• Formative Assessment 
  • Many of these videos were used as a form of assessment. Since we utilized Show Me throughout the school year, I was able to add and cover various standards during center time to include new skills and problems for the students to solve.
  • I often used these videos at parent-teacher conferences as a way to show parents how their kids are doing with a skill.
  • Students can watch and create videos outside the classroom!
• Reflection
  • To close a lesson, I would bring the class together and showcase a video. This video would have different purposes depending on the objective. A review of a video would often showcase great discourse or use of vocabulary or highlight mistakes to create discussions regarding misconceptions.