MATRIX GRANT OVERVIEW

1
MATRIX GRANT OVERVIEW

• Wharton Public School District
• MacKinnon Middle School
• Year One
• Grant Coordinator Chris Herdman

2
Strengths and Highlights

• Having instructional consultants on site 3 to 4
  times a month
• Training periods to collaborate with other
  teachers in district
• Frequent access to laptops and various technology
• Technology training and continuing support for
  infusion
• Shifting paradigms - student centered and less
  teacher centered instruction promoting student
  responsibility
• Restructuring of classrooms to promote
  differentiation
• Problem-based Learning to show connections
  between life and math
• Teacher Feature Betsy Riordan
• Article in IDE Update Chris Herdman

3
Activities, Tasks and Strategies

• Noon Day Project
• Can You Feel the Madness??? (PBL Task)
• Indoor Ski Slope (PBL Task)
• Keeping your Summer Job (PBL Task)
• Getting Down to Business (PBL Task)
• Todays Town Square
• Bridging the Math Gap (PBL Task)
• Fraction Monster
• Medieval Fair
• Match the Symbol
• Shapes - Match the Area, Volume and Perimeter
• Angles, Angles Everywhere!
• Mini-lessons
• Student Scheduling
• Activity Lists
• Using Folders and Resource Tables

4
Challenges

• Giving students more responsibility and being
  less teacher centered
• Shifting paradigms for teacher is always
  challenging
• Infusing the technology when students are more
  familiar with technology than the teachers
• Finding time for more planning and creating of
  materials
• Incorporating bilingual classrooms