Jason Newburg, a Math teacher at Skyview Middle school, is one chill guy...that is according to his students. When I asked Brayden Lancaster, a student at Skyview Middle school, to tell me about Mr. Newburg, he told me that math is his favorite subject. Then the surrounding pods of students all stopped what they were doing to chime in on my question. I heard multiple students say, "Yea me too!" "Mr. Newburg is fun!" "Mr. Newburg makes us laugh." They explain that he is their favorite teacher because he is so chill. They can come in feeling stressed out and Mr. Newburg is just laid back and it makes them feel calm. They all love math. It is their favorite subject. What makes this chill math teacher so engaging?
When I enter the room I noticed a few things. All the students are quite busy. There are many working independently. They have their iPads and Chromebooks open to Schoology with all of their work and notes needed to get an assignment finished.
Some students are in line to consult with the teacher. One asked, “Are there any tests I have not passed?” Mr. Newburg discusses with the student which assignments are missing and what the student needs to do next. Two students are at the data wall putting stickers next to the quiz that they just passed.
Mr. Wedor, Skyview's principal, explains that the students can take the quiz as many times as they need. It is a process of taking a quiz, conferencing with Mr. Newburg, practicing the skill, and retaking the quiz. This process is repeated until they have demonstrated mastery of the skill. Then they get to track it on the data on the wall with a sticker. I asked a student if they got anything for filling up the chart. He looked at me like I was asking a weird question. He said, “NO. We do it because we like to know where we are at. Besides, I get to pick my stickers.”
Theresa Ritz, POWER Zone Superintendent explains it best, "I've had the pleasure of observing in Mr. Newburg's classroom several times, and each time I'm inspired by the level of student engagement and the personalized experience he offers every student through skill-based data tracking. Students understand exactly what they need to know and they track their progress along the way. Jason provides an excellent example of the assessment portion of the NASOT framework!"
Amir Payne, another student quietly working, explains to me the other chart is for whole class growth. If everyone in the class meets grade-level standards then they all get a movie party. The students at the pod all start celebrating. They let me know that they are very close.
Mr. Newburg explains that the quizzes are a combination of grade level standards and past standards to help the students with catch-up growth. The whole class graph is just this year's grade-level standards. He chuckles when I tell him of the mini-celebration.
Mr. Newburg explains that this idea stemmed from his experiences of progress monitoring students' reading. For math, this process made sense. The students have 10 - 15 minutes every day to work on skills, complete a practice problem (which they can check on their own), have a mini-conference, take a 5-question quiz, or track their growth. It depends on what they need. They work independently on this before transitioning the whole group into the lesson for the day. Today’s lesson was a math escape room. I wanted to join.
Jason Newburg sits down with me at the end of class to answer some of my questions. He explains that it is great to see the mini-celebrations. Sometimes the kids struggle and struggle and then they finally understand and they get it. They smile and they are motivated. They have buy-in.
He states that he finds balance is tricky. He got rid of the daily warm-ups to make time for this whole process. One of the benefits is flexibility. They can stop and pick up where they left off the next day. This process is differentiated without any more work than he would normally do. The quizzes are focused on the standards and all the resources are in Schoology. He teaches them how to study and guides them with an ongoing dialogue to meet each individual need. The big reward for a job well done is watching his students learn to love math and discovering it is easy. They can do anything! Jason Newburg is a remarkable teacher. He is humble, kind, and yea - super chill.