High Dosage Tutoring
The pandemic was challenging for everyone in education. As a result, considering that math education heavily relies on in-person classroom interactions, it’s no secret that it suffered significantly. Prior to the pandemic, achieving positive outcomes on a large scale was not common.
Instruction, culture, and data – all of these factors are crucial. However, it’s imperative that high-dosage tutoring becomes a “must” rather than a mere nicety, especially when students are not meeting the required standards.
The Math Yogis leverage research, years of experience in schools, and a proven design methodology to craft a small-group tutoring experience that accelerates student learning.
Starting in the 2023-24 school year, The Math Yogis will offer a limited number of partnerships for high-dosage tutoring to schools during the “crunch time” period leading up to state testing. Additionally, we will provide year-round tutoring for schools starting in the 2024-25 school year.
HIGH-DOSAGE TUTORING FOR ACCELERATED STUDENT LEARNING
Context and Background
For decades, families with means have hired tutors when their children fall behind in school. This makes sense given that tutoring consistently ranks among the most effective evidence-based interventions for students struggling in math. However, for students from lower income families, finding the time, space and means for tutoring can be challenging regardless of its impact.
A review of almost 200 studies found that high-dosage tutoring – delivered more than three days per week or at a rate of at least 50 hours over 36 weeks — is one of the few school-based interventions with demonstrated large, positive effects on both math and reading.
With pandemic-related disruptions to learning and “learning loss,” educators and schools need something ambitious to meet the magnitude of this challenge. While this remains a widespread challenge that many schools and districts face, the issue of learning loss is more acute in high-poverty schools, as well as for Black and Latinx students.
If there is a single silver lining, it is that the pandemic has crystallized the need for better support in students’ math education. While Tier I instruction is the most important component of learning, it cannot, even at its best, accelerate student achievement quickly enough. It demands more in the name of equity.
Rigorous research provides strong evidence that High-Dosage Tutoring can produce large learning gains for a wide range of students, including those who have fallen behind academically.
Math Yogis High-Dosage Tutoring
High-Dosage tutoring is one of the few interventions with a demonstrated benefit and while it would be quite the lift to provide this type of tutoring for every single student throughout the year, Math Yogis High-Dosage Tutoring builds on research and strong methodology to provide high-dosage tutoring services that leverages and maximizes the school’s time, space, and resources.
The Math Yogis leverage research, years of experience in schools, and a proven design methodology to craft a small-group tutoring experience that accelerates student learning.
Data-Driven
❖ Utilizing data for crunch time tutoring that prioritizes students that are “almost” at grade level and would benefit the most from intensive support.
Accountability
❖ A formulated tutoring scope and sequence with an emphasis on priority standards based on interim assessment results.
Relationships and Care
❖ High-Dosage Tutoring comes to your schools to provide in-person tutoring directly for your students.
Math Yogis High-Dosage Tutoring adheres to these research-based features of high-dosage tutoring that have been proven to have positive effects on student outcomes.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Tutoring involves three or more sessions per week with sessions that last for about 30-60 minutes per day, for at least ten weeks. |
| Group Size | Group size matters: three to four students at a time (moving beyond this number can quickly become small group instruction, which is less personalized and requires a higher degree of skill to do well). |
| Tutor Personnel | Math Yogi tutors are paid and provided with training and ongoing support around instructional techniques, social emotional learning, and cultural competency. They are vetted through a hiring process that requires tutors have the prerequisite content knowledge, as well as the necessary mindsets to tutor young people. |
| Focus on the Standards & Acceleration | The use of high-quality instructional materials that align with grade-level standards: specifically materials from Eureka, Illustrative Math, and from the CAASPP portal/Tools for Teachers. Instruction is supplemental and focused on acceleration, not remediation. |
| Relationships | Consistent tutor/student matches that prioritize building relationships and leverage the experiences of tutors who provide instruction distinct from their classroom education. |
| Data Prioritization | Tutoring scope and sequence will be formulated based on interim assessment results and priority standards that need to be emphasized. For crunch time tutoring, it is important to prioritize students that are “almost” at grade level and would benefit the most from intensive crunch-time tutoring. |
| Scheduling | Tutoring interventions conducted during the school day tend to result in greater learning gains than those after school or during the summer. Providing tutoring during school increases the likelihood that students will attend and facilitates a more academic-focused culture. |
| Format | In-person tutoring has been the most effective format for high-dosage tutoring and more advantageous for relationship building than virtual or online tutoring. |
In order for Math Yogis to adhere to these research-based features and provide high-impact high-dosage tutoring, partner schools will commit to:
Have a set ‘lead’ that is a point of contact for Math Yogis for tutors
Communicating expectations and commitments to key stakeholders: teachers, families, students, and staff
Engaging in open communication/dialogue and share interim assessment student data, bell schedules, and key curricular resources such as pacing maps and plans
Already engaging in regular and consistent interim assessments and have validated student data to analyze (before March)
What Makes Math Yogis Unique
Math Yogis are guided by the following principles:
Data-Driven
❖ Math equity means student learning and achievement that show up in the the results (data)
❖ Focus on using interim assessment data (ICA, IAB) to inform and drive network/school/classroom practice
❖ Grounded in research-based and standards-aligned mathematical practices
Accountability
❖ Alignment of services with mathematical content specifications of summative assessments
❖ Utilization of reputable and vetted math curricula and resources to drive professional learning, classroom observations, and high-leverage feedback
Relationships & Care – “Be Good to Yourself”
Math Yogis High-Dosage Tutoring for Accelerated Student Learning
❖ Balance of teaching mathematics effectively while prioritizing educator self-care
❖ Does the work alongside educators and leaders: as a former school leader, Nick knows the importance of building relationships through doing the work and active learning: he conducts demo labs, walkthroughs, live coaching, data analysis, direct teacher coaching, as well as building capacity in network leaders
You can read more about Nick and Math Yogis at www.themathyogis.com. Professional Learning samples and consulting references can be provided upon request.