Teacher Feature - Kelli Adrian - Mathigon to support Math Fluency

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Kelli Adrian (email kelli.adrian@eagleschools.net) joined the team at Gypsum Creek Middle School this year as a 6th grade Math teacher after previously working at Brush Creek Elementary School, Avon Elementary School, and June Creek Elementary School. Kelli has been integrating a website called Mathigon as a way to build students' math fluency. Continue reading to learn more!

1. What question were you trying to answer?

I was trying to find a way to support students' math fluency through technology. I was focusing specifically on two types of fluency. First, many of our 6th-grade students struggle with fluency in their math facts for multiplication.  Second, it’s best practice in mathematics education to support students’ fluency in grade-level math concepts through concrete, representational, and abstract (CRA) representations.  I was looking for something that could support students in both of these areas while I am working with small groups.

2. How did you decide to answer that question?

My co-teacher, Mary Blomquist, and I started using Mathigon.org.  A teacher account is free and setting up classes with a class code is easy and quick.  Students can use Mathigon without an account or set up an account with Mathigon on their own. But if they join a class set up through a teacher account the perks include being able to track student progress in Multiplication by Heart and assigning activities through the Polypad. 

Multiplication by Heart uses an evidenced-based learning approach called spaced repetition to support students in learning their multiplication facts.  They practice their facts with sets of digital flash cards.  These cards initially support students' fluency through concrete visuals of circles and dots. Then, as students become more fluent, the cards gradually change to more abstract representations such as prime circles and arrays. As students practice, the cards move from Box A to Box B.  Any missed cards will stay in Box A to be practiced every day, while the cards in Box B that students are more fluent with continue to move into Box C and so on and eventually appear less frequently.

The students enjoy the applications and it takes only minutes a day for students to practice. I can track student’s progress through the teacher dashboard and this also allows me to identify students who require small-group intervention. In addition to Multiplication by Heart, there are several other activities/games that students love to play! All the activities help to develop a student's critical thinking, problem-solving, and mathematical skills. Factris is another student favorite where they use factor pairs to create arrays that are then used as Tetris-type pieces in a Tetris-style game. 

The second tool I love is the Polypad.  The Polypad is a vast collection of virtual manipulatives for students to use to explore math concepts through concrete and representational visuals. Manipulatives are organized by category including geometry, numbers, fractions, algebra, probability and data, and finally games and applications. Using the teacher account I can either have students use these manipulatives to create their own representations and share them with me, or I can create an assignment to share with students. There are also pre-made lessons that use the Polypad that I can assign to students. It is a fun and incredibly interactive way for students to explore math. 

3. What impact did the solution have on your students?

My students are more engaged and eager to learn.  They LOVE Mathigon! I love that it’s supporting my students in their multiplication and in their understanding of grade-level content and that it helps me better identify small groups of students to work with. My hope is that this work will reflect growth in their December STAR middle-of-the-year testing. 

It also supports our curricular resource Desmos.  While Desmos is also a very interactive online tool to support students learning, many of the representations and contexts are already created for students.  There is power in students exploring math concepts through their own creations.  It engages many students who would otherwise disconnect because of a lack of understanding and it opens the door for students to engage in the Math Practice Standards independently. 

4. If you were to do it all again, would you do anything differently?

Any other tips or tricks you would recommend for teachers wanting to

implement something similar in their classroom? 

Be sure to set clear expectations and boundaries while using this platform.  Students will oftentimes, as with all websites, decide to neglect the assignment in pursuit of other creative projects while in the Polypad. I encourage students to stay on task by offering independent time in Mathigon as a “may do” when all assignments are completed. 

Also, while Multiplication by Heart is evidence-based it can not replace good instruction, it can only supplement.  Be sure to support students' growth through instruction of multiplication strategies along with Multiplication by Heart to practice.