AfterMath
We all know that students learn at different speeds. Unfortunately, we usually have a curriculum map, pacing guide, and state standards that we must follow during our school year so we can’t always wait until everyone has a topic mastered before moving on. This is where AfterMath comes in!
In order to give my students another chance to understand the math we have recently covered and improve their grades, I give my students the opportunity to correct their mistakes in a very specific format.
I quickly learned, in my 20+ year teaching career, that just going over a test with students held very little educational value. Since the test was over, almost no one was interested or paying attention.
Asking students to correct the mistakes on the test, didn’t offer the level of remediation I felt was best for my students. Too many kids either got the correct answer from someone else or didn’t effectively reflect on their mistake to ensure that it did not happen again.
Hence the birth of AfterMath
After a chapter or unit test, all students have the opportunity to correct their mistakes on the AfterMath form. First, I need to know the problem number and the original problem. Having students copy the original problem is important, too many times the error was not correctly or fully reading the problem.
Second, I need to see your work. How did you get to the correct solution?
There are several ways you can offer remediation to students so they can get to the correct answer.
Ask an expert - identity students in the room that have a good understanding of the topic and ask them to help others.
Assign a remediation activity students must complete before attempting the problem again. Such as a Kahn Academy video, step by step instructional worksheet or identify any of the many digital resources we now have available to us.
Ask the teacher. I would frequently make myself available before or after school to assist students that needed a bit more guidance.
The third and final part of AfterMath is the reflection piece. I required students to explain what they did wrong on the first attempt and what they did the second time to get the correct answer. The reflection must be in full, complete sentences. For example, a student might say “I forgot to consider place value and line my decimals up before adding. I now know I must line up the decimal points.” or “ I made a silly math mistake. 5x7=35, not 42 like I wrote on the test.”
The AfterMath form is stapled to the original test and both are turned in.
Tips on grading AfterMath.
I gave everybody the opportunity to make test corrections - no matter how well they did on the test.
AfterMath allowed you to earn back half of the points you missed.
In my grade book, AfterMath was a separate assignment in the same category as the test. For example Chapter 3 AfterMath was its own assignment. I never wanted to change the original grade on a test - this is valuable information when talking to parents or deciding on a placement for the next school year. Plus, I wanted to easily see who did and did not take advantage of this opportunity to learn and improve their grade.
AfterMath was worth zero points so that it raised a student's grade that completed it but did not penalize those that did not.
Hopefully, you can find a way to use AfterMath, or some form of it, in your classroom not only to improve your student's grades but also mastery of math.
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