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MathCoach Interactive
Pros: Well-organized math curriculum provides multi-modal support for a variety of learners.
Cons: The student dashboard and navigation take time to master.
Bottom Line: The well-designed curriculum and the site's comprehensive toolkit help support a variety of learners.
Mathcoach Interactive seems designed as a stand-alone, year-long curriculum, and teachers could certainly use it this way -- possibly with mixed results, depending on how it's implemented. However, the site might shine better as a supplement for reinforcing specific skills, as an instrument for homework support, as a blended learning tool, or even in a flipped-classroom environment.
Given that the site's assessment data is so robust and easy to access, teachers are likely to find it useful in targeting skills that need reinforcement. Beyond one-on-one intervention, assigning the site's included learning pathways might help students strengthen skills and push their thinking in new directions.
MathCoach Interactive is a comprehensive math website for grades K-5 with animated lessons, online practice, printable worksheets, and fluency games aligned with the Common Core standards. Complete, year-long learning paths can be assigned to students individually or in groups. Individual lessons from within the learning paths can also be assigned. Online assessments are baked in to the site to help guide students to their next steps.
After teachers set up an account, they can easily search and assign learning tasks to students. Content is searchable by skill, grade level, and topic progressions. Online games are included to help build fact fluency for a variety of topics and operations. As students log in, they're given a pre-assessment and presented with their teacher-assigned lessons. Teachers can use pre- and post-assessments to help assign targeted remediation. Kids are also encouraged to choose their own topics to study.
MathCoach Interactive does an excellent job of supporting a variety of learning styles and needs. Auditory help and closed captioning are available throughout the site. The "My Strategy" button prompts students to write and reflect on their work. Another highlight is the way the program mixes directed learning while also encouraging students to explore math content on their own. It's easy to access data to help students set goals and make progress. For the most part, lessons are well organized and give students freedom to review and skip ahead.
The site's navigation leaves a bit to be desired, but the way it puts students in the driver’s seat for learning helps engage them while also giving support. Nevertheless, this engagement may vary depending on how students are asked to use the site; with full-time, day in, day out use, kids' interest is sure to wane. However, recent updates include point-generated certificates that will likely help with longer-term motivation. For teachers, lessons are easy to preview, and assigning work is a snap, presumably leaving room for one-on-one intervention time.