Ms. Mel Loring’s goal this year when she took a new job as a math teacher and math coach at a middle school in Culpeper, Virginia was “to fully integrate up to date technological tools and innovative approaches for her students to best learn.” To meet that goal, she started using Reflex with her students this year. Before Reflex, “I had a difficult time finding a math program that meets every student’s interests. The other math programs I tried did not keep students’ interest because they took too long and they had to play too much to see rewards.”
With Reflex, she says, “Students want to come to my remedial classroom. Students want to get on Reflex to play the games. Students see a milestone reward with their name on it in the hallway and light up. I enjoy seeing the students focused, engaged and excited when they earn coins and open new games. Reflex activates every student’s interests in its own special way. Some of my students have been in remedial classrooms all through elementary school. These same students say to me now, ‘We have a test and I’m gonna do good,’ or they say ‘I got this test today. I know I will do good.’ I have students in my class who have not passed a math SOL (VA standardized testing) yet in middle school or have not passed an SOL since 3rd grade.”
Reflex is making a difference for her students. “Students say that they can see what is happening in between the steps in their grade level math classes because they see the four operations more easily and faster. Their confidence is growing because they see and feel growth in my classroom. It is carrying upstairs and down the hallway into their grade level-core math classrooms, and their grades are increasing.”
So far their test scores reflect their progress. “My students took a pre-test at the beginning of the semester and then a mid-semester test. The score for 6th graders and 7th graders from the pre-test to the mid-semester test doubled, and the score from the pre to the mid for 8th graders more than doubled. Also, their on-grade level benchmark testing from Benchmark One to Benchmark Two to Benchmark Three has increased. A 100% of my 6th graders, 60% of my 7th graders and 90% of my 8th graders had an increase on each one of their tests. Also, ”
Ms. Loring’s students entered a national math facts contest (21,259 students across the nation participated). “Upon entering, the students immediately said to me, ‘What’s the point? There is no way I’d even get close to winning.’ I told them that it is always good to be a part of something bigger than themselves and it takes courage to go forward. I told them let’s see what having courage with this math facts contest feels like. I told them there is no penalty, no harm and it wouldn’t be used for or against their grade this quarter. They began the contest and worked in my class for 2-3 days depending on their schedule.”
The results on the national math facts contest shocked both her and students. “I had a student reach the top 3% in the nation (this student does not complete work in his grade level core class without an argument), a student placed 4% in the nation (this student was the one who said ‘what’s the point?’), and another student reached 5% in the nation (this student is an 8th grader who has not passed an SOL yet). I had more students place 8%, 10%, 13%, 17% and 20%’s. They all were in shock. What does this have to do with Reflex? Without building their math fact fluency with Reflex with consistency and without being brave and trying, placing in the top 10% in the nation and feel this level of success would have been difficult.”
She adds, “Reflex works. Period. End of story.”
Mel Loring has taught for seventeen years, and is currently a math teacher and math coach at Floyd T. Binns Middle School in Culpeper County, Virginia. She went to Juniata College for two years and graduated from Messiah College in 2001. She has a Masters in Education from Walden University.