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On June 22, 2021, we will launch updated strategies for the Math PK-2 model, as well as additional updates to the Navigator that highlight equity, SEL, and culturally responsive teaching. To learn more, visit our Site Updates (available in the "About" menu at the top of any page).
Hover to see how factors connect to Sense of Belonging. Then click connected factors to explore strategies related to multiple factors.
A Sense of Belonging allows us to feel included, respected, and supported in school. It is heavily tied to our own identities, supports the development of a positive identity, and is context and culture-dependent. School settings have the potential to be a source of adversity or can be a supportive environment, fostering positive identity development among culturally and historically marginalized students. Students who report stronger Sense of Belonging in school typically have more positive math identities, and greater academic self-efficacy and success.
Students activate more cognitive processes by exploring and representing their understandings in visual form.
Analyzing incorrect worked examples is especially beneficial for helping students develop a conceptual understanding of mathematical processes.
Project-based learning (PBL) actively engages learners in authentic tasks designed to create products that answer a given question or solve a problem.
When students explain their thinking process aloud with guidance in response to questions or prompts, they recognize the strategies they use and solidify their understanding.
Math games allow students to practice many math skills in a fun, applied context.
Response devices boost engagement by encouraging all students to answer every question.
When students create their own number and word problems, they connect math concepts to their background knowledge and lived experiences.
Analyzing and discussing solved problems helps students develop a deeper understanding of abstract mathematical processes.
As students solve problems in a group, they learn new strategies and practice communicating their mathematical thinking.
Flexible grouping is a classroom practice that temporarily places students together in given groups to work together, with the purpose of achieving a given learning goal or activity.
As students walk through stations working in small groups, the social and physical nature of the learning supports deeper understanding.
As students work with and process information by discussing, organizing, and sharing it together, they deepen their understanding.
When students have meaningful discussions about math and use math vocabulary, they develop the thinking, questioning, and explanation skills needed to master mathematical concepts.
Having students teach their knowledge, skills, and understanding to their classmates strengthens learning.
Students deepen their understanding and gain confidence in their learning when they explain to and receive feedback from others.
Students deepen their math understanding as they use and hear others use specific math language in informal ways.
Rhyming, alliteration, and other sound devices reinforce math skills development by activating the mental processes that promote memory.
A mnemonic device is a creative way to support memory for new information using connections to current knowledge, for example by creating visuals, acronyms, or rhymes.
A word wall helps build the Math Communication and vocabulary skills that are necessary for problem solving.
Providing math tasks with high cognitive demand conveys high expectations for all students by challenging them to engage in higher-order thinking.
CRA is a sequential instructional approach during which students move from working with concrete materials to creating representational drawings to using abstract symbols.
Thinking of and about patterns encourages learners to look for and understand the rules and relationships that are critical components of mathematical reasoning.
Discussing strategies for solving mathematics problems after initially letting students attempt to problem solve on their own helps them understand how to organize their Algebraic Thinking and intentionally tackle problems.
Teaching students to recognize the structures of algebraic representations helps them transfer solution methods from familiar to unfamiliar problems.
The flipped classroom has two parts: cooperative group activities in class and digitally-based individual instruction out of class.
In guided inquiry, teachers help students use their own language for constructing knowledge by active listening and questioning.
Math centers with math games, manipulatives, and activities support learner interests and promote the development of more complex math skills and social interactions.
Through short but regular mindfulness activities, students develop their awareness and ability to focus.
Instruction in multiple formats allows students to activate different cognitive skills to understand and remember the steps they are to take in their math work.
When teachers connect math to the students' world, students see how math is relevant and applicable to their daily lives.
Untimed tests provide students the opportunity to flexibly and productively work with numbers, further developing their problem-solving abilities.
Writing that encourages students to articulate their understanding of math concepts or explain math ideas helps deepen students' mathematical understanding.
A strengths-based approach is one where educators intentionally identify, communicate, and harness students' assets, across many aspects of the whole child, in order to empower them to flourish.
Writing freely about one's emotions about a specific activity, such as taking a test, can help students cope with negative Emotion, such as math anxiety.
Setting overall goals, as well as smaller goals as steps to reaching them, encourages consistent, achievable progress and helps students feel confident in their skills and abilities.
When students reframe negative thoughts and tell themselves kind self-statements, they practice positive self-talk.
Providing space and time for students to reflect is critical for moving what they have learned into Long-term Memory.
When students engage in a dialogue with themselves, they are able to orient, organize, and focus their thinking.
When students monitor their comprehension, behavior, or use of strategies, they build their Metacognition.
Pre-assessments are tools or activities used before instruction begins to help educators understand what students already know, understand, or can do—and where they may need support.
Adding motions to complement learning activates more cognitive processes for recall and understanding.
Communication boards are displays of graphics (e.g., pictures, symbols, illustrations) and/or words where learners can gesture or point to the displays to extend their expressive language potential.
Short breaks that include mindfulness quiet the brain to allow for improved thinking and emotional regulation.
Brain breaks that include movement allow learners to refresh their thinking and focus on learning new information.
Providing physical and virtual representations of numbers and math concepts helps activate mental processes.
Connecting information to music and dance can support Short-term and Long-term Memory by engaging auditory processes, Emotions, and physical activity.
Incorporating multiple senses with strategies like chewing gum, using a fidget, and sitting on a ball chair supports focus and Attention.
Using earplugs or headphones can increase focus and comfort.
Transforming written text into audio activates different parts of the brain to support learning.
Visual supports, like text magnification, colored overlays, and guided reading strip, help students focus and properly track as they read.
Dim or natural lighting provides a calming environment.
When classrooms are intentionally designed to promote inclusion, belonging, and accessibility, they positively influence key learner factors, including Attention, Self-Regulation, Learner Mindset, and Sense of Belonging.
Having space where students can go supports Self-regulation and individual deliberate practice.
Multiple tables and chairs on wheels allow for setting up the classroom to support the desired learning outcomes of each activity.
Multiple display spaces help develop oral language skills as well as Social Awareness & Relationship Skills by allowing groups to share information easily as they work.
Multiple writing surfaces promote collaboration by allowing groups to share information easily as they work.
Decreasing extra audio input provides a focused learning environment.
Math games and manipulatives for vision differences support math development for learners with visual needs.
Children's literature can be a welcoming way to help students learn math vocabulary and concepts.
Providing ways for students to adjust sound level supports individual auditory needs.
Providing ways for students to meet their individual temperature needs supports focus and Self-regulation.
Spaces that are structured, organized, and clean provide increased room for collaboration and active learning.
Continual use of foundational skills with different problems reinforces a conceptual understanding of math skills.
Daily review strengthens previous learning and can lead to fluent recall.
Spending time with new content helps move concepts and ideas into Long-term Memory.
Practicing until achieving several error-free attempts is critical for retention.
Having students verbally repeat information such as instructions ensures they have heard and supports remembering.
Teachers support language development by using and providing vocabulary and syntax that is appropriately leveled (e.g., using simple sentences when introducing complex concepts).
Content that is provided in clear, short chunks can support students' Working Memory.
Building positive and trusting relationships with learners allows them to feel safe, a Sense of Belonging, and that their academic, cognitive, and social and emotional needs are supported.
Actively and authentically encouraging all students to seek support, ask questions, and advocate for what they believe in creates a safe space for risk-taking and skill development and supports a Sense of Belonging.
Teachers can help students understand that learning involves effort, mistakes, and reflection by teaching them about their malleable brain and modeling their own learning process.
Providing feedback that focuses on the process of developing skills conveys the importance of effort and motivates students to persist when learning.
By talking through their thinking at each step of a process, teachers can model what learning looks like.
Teachers sharing math-to-self, math-to-math, and math-to-world connections model math schema building.
Maintaining consistent classroom routines and schedules ensures that students are able to trust and predict what will happen next.
Providing students a voice in their learning is critical for making learning meaningful.
Wait time, or think time, of three or more seconds after posing a question increases how many students volunteer and the length and accuracy of their responses.
Visualizing how ideas fit together helps students construct meaning and strengthens recall.
Visual representations help students understand what a number represents as well as recognize relationships between numbers.
Sentence frames or stems can serve as language support to enrich students' participation in academic discussions.
Providing visuals to introduce, support, or review instruction activates more cognitive processes to support learning.
Discussing race with students can range from celebrating the importance of diversity to understanding the impact of racism from the perspective of those who have been historically marginalized.
Learning about students' cultures and connecting them to instructional practices helps foster a Sense of Belonging and mitigate Stereotype Threat.
Developing cultural awareness as an educator is an ongoing process that includes building empathy for the full diversity of students, intentionally recognizing how one's own identity intersects with students' identities, and creating an awareness of how the learning environment can impact students' Sense of Belonging.
Student-led conferences are meetings between students, parents, and teachers where the student actively leads the conversation by reflecting on their progress toward goals and sharing examples of their work.
Developing empathy in educators and in learners is an iterative process that requires taking the time to understand and honor others' perspectives.
Family engagement happens when educators and schools collaborate with families to collectively support their child's learning in meaningful ways, both at school and at home.
Selecting culturally responsive materials, including multicultural and diverse resources, is critical for supporting all students.
Translanguaging is a flexible classroom practice enabling students to listen, speak, read, and write across their multiple languages or dialects, even if the teacher does not have formal knowledge of these additional languages.
A first step to supporting learners is truly understanding who they are.
Checking in with learners, or taking the time to talk with individual learners about their experiences or goals, is important for fostering a positive classroom environment.
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This is our homepage. You can access many of the features of the Navigator here, and learn more about how learner variability intersects with topics in education and learning. To start, select a content area – we call them Learner Models – to visit a factor map.
Factor maps show research-based concepts, "factors," that likely impact learning. They are organized into four categories: Learner Background, Social and Emotional Learning, Cognition, and Content Area. The map is interactive. Move your cursor over a factor to see connected factors. Select any factor to visit its summary page. We'll look at factor summary pages next.
This is a factor summary page. It provides a brief definition and review of the factor, a factor connections diagram, additional resources, and strategies that support this factor. On the strategy card, the multi-colored boxes show all the factors that it supports. Select a strategy to visit its summary page.
Strategy summary pages have an overview, information about using the strategy in different learning environments, resources of interest, the factors this strategy supports, and related strategies you can explore. To view all the strategies in a content area, use the strategies tab at the top of the page. We'll look at all the Strategies for this learner model next.
The strategy page shows ALL of the strategies for that learner model. You can select factors of interest for you or your learners, and it will narrow the strategies to only those that match all of the factors selected. This makes it easy to find key strategies to better design for learner variability. Again, select the strategy name to visit its summary page.
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Learner variability is the recognition that each learner is a unique constellation of strengths and challenges that are interconnected across the whole child. Understanding these connections and how they vary according to context is essential for meeting the needs of each learner.
It disrupts the notion of a one-size-fits all education. Understanding learner variability helps educators embrace both students’ struggles and strengths as we connect practice to uplifting the whole learner.
Throughout the site, we talk about "factors" and "strategies." Factors are concepts research suggests have an impact on how people learn. Strategies are the approaches to teaching and learning that can be used to support people in how they learn best.
Use the Learner Centered Design Tool to build a workspace. Go to Learner Centered Design Tool.
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Use one of the guided tools to build a workspace.
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On this page, using your heatmap, you will be asked to select factors to further explore, and then select new strategies you might incorporate into upcoming instruction. Once done, click “Show Summary" to view your Design Summary Report.
On this page, using your heatmap, you will be asked to select factors to further explore, and then select new strategies you might incorporate into upcoming instruction. Once done, click “Show Report” to view your Design Summary Report.
By selecting "Show Report" you will be taken to the Assessment Summary Page. Once created, you will not be able to edit your report. If you select cancel below, you can continue to edit your factor and strategy selections.
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Learner variability is the recognition that each learner is a unique constellation of strengths and challenges that are interconnected across the whole child. Understanding these connections and how they vary according to context is essential for meeting the needs of each learner. It embraces both students’ struggles and strengths. It considers the whole child.
Throughout the site, we talk about "factors" and "strategies." Factors are concepts research suggests have an impact on how people learn. Strategies are the approaches to teaching and learning that can be used to support people in how they learn best.
The Learner Variability Navigator is a free, online tool that translates the science of learner variability into factor maps and strategies that highlight connections across the whole learner. This puts the science of learning at teachers' fingertips, empowering them to understand their own practice and support each learner.
