How can I use Study Island with my Special Education students?

1. Restrict Students to a Certain Grade Level: Students can work on grade level material appropriate to their Individual Education Plan (IEP), AND you can hide the grade level they are working on, so the student will not know.

Restricting students to one grade level:

a. From the admin page, or teacher page (if your admin grants you access), click on Adjust Student Difficulty.
b. Under Option 2, select a class or grade level.
c. Check off the student names you wish to adjust on the left side of the screen.
d. Select the restricted grade level.
e. Check the box “Hide Grade Level From User”.
f. Select “Restrict User(s) To This Level”.

Any time you wish to make changes, simply follow the instructions listed above.

2. Adjust Passing Parameters: You can adjust the percentage required to achieve the blue ribbon. This can increase the student’s self-esteem, and motivate them while using Study Island. Please note that this does not change the difficulty of the material, just the percentage required to pass the topic.

Adjusting Passing Parameters:
a. From the admin or teacher page (if your admin grants you access), select “Adjust Student Difficulty”.
b. Under Option 1 use the arrow down box to select a program.
c. Next, use the drop down box to select a class.
d. Select “Next”.
e. Check off the students’ names you wish to adjust on the left side of the screen.
f. Select the subject you wish to change from the drop down box.
g. Select your parameters next to Passing Level.
h. Select “Set Passing Level”.

3. Individual Subject Reports: Use these reports to assist your decision making process when writing Individual Education Plans (IEPs). While viewing this report, you will be able to see the topics in which the student is exceeding, as opposed to which topics need improvement. Spotting which goals/objectives should be placed on the IEP has never been easier!!

Finding the Individual Subject Report:

a. From the admin or teacher page, select School Stats Page.
b. Select Individual Student Report for Report Type.
c. Select a Class.
d. Select a Student.
e. Select a Program (This will default to the grade that the student is enrolled in, however, if they are working on a different grade level than they are enrolled in, you will have to select the program you wish to view.)
f. Select a Subject.
g. Select View Report.
h. Once the report appears, you can select Suggested Topics.

***Remember you can select “Standard” from the report screen to view the KCC standard being addressed.

The Individual Subject Report is also printable, which makes it a handy document to carry along with you to Admission/Review/Dismissal (ARD)/Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings. This allows you to share with the committee how you came about determining your goals/objectives for your special education student(s).

4. Utilizing the Printable Worksheet:
• Print 1 or more topics for review in this mode.
• The teacher or students cut the questions apart as well as the answers. Students will work the problems and match them to the answer slips.
• Pair students together or work one-on-one with them to work individual problems.
• Make a transparency of the worksheet and use it as a whole class lesson.

There are endless possibilities when it comes to utilizing this program to meet the needs of special education students! Please do not hesitate to check with our Customer Implementation Team for more ideas!

The Clicker People

We are thrilled that schools will now be able to use Study Island with CPS (Classroom Performance Systems) through eInstruction. Many of us know them as the clicker people!

Students will be able to use their clickers as a study mode within Study Island. Students' results will be saved into the Study Island system for reporting in the same way that data is saved when students are logged into the program. Students are each assigned a clicker and teachers can either pull up the question through a projector in front of the room, or students can use the clickers to answer questions on a printable worksheet. Even when using the printable worksheet, if students are using the clickers to answer the Study Island questions, the program scores them and their data is saved.

If your school has a set of CPS clickers, but limited lab availability, this is a great way to gauge student proficiency on a topic without even leaving your classroom!

How to Use Federal Funding to Purchase Study Island

No Child Left Behind (NCLB), re-authorized in 2005, is the common name for the latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) originally enacted in 1965. Assessment of students and schools plus accountability to parents and the community are key factors of NCLB. Among other things, the act mandates assessments, in the form of tests, of various subject matters for students in certain grades; assuring that the school staff is “highly qualified”; and it calls for providing parents with access to information and choices.

Study Island was conceived and developed in response to the need of schools to meet the goals of NCLB’s requirements. Since 2000, Study Island has examined individual state’s learning standards and developed programs designed to help teachers and administrators ensure that students were able to meet the goals of NCLB and their specific state standards.

The good news is that research documentation consistently shows that the use of Study Island significantly increases student test scores! In addition, Study Island helps reduce the amount of time teachers spend on administrative duties and increases the amount of time for individualized instruction and “target teaching”; all the while promoting increased interaction between the school and the home.

Currently, over a 6 million students in more than 15,000 schools coast to coast are better mastering their state standards and boosting their test scores by using Study Island. Many of those schools are utilizing federal (Title) funds to make Study Island available for their students. This document is designed to assist you in selecting federal funds available to support Study Island.

TITLE I—IMPROVING THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE DISADVANTAGED

Study Island provides programs that help schools meet the goals of Title I by:
· Promoting mastery of challenging academic standards for all students with lessons, reviews, assessments and reinforcements directly aligned with state standards
· Increasing accountability of students and schools by providing detailed reports that show just where a student, or a class, stands in their mastery of the required standards
· For reported areas of weakness, providing guidance and opportunities for individualized instruction and target teaching designed to help students master standards and boost test scores
· Offering professional development for teachers and administrators to ensure standards-based instruction and seamless technology integration
· Providing parents with real-time reports of how their child stands in the mastery of required standards and meaningful opportunities to participate in their child’s education

TITLE II—PREPARING, TRAINING, AND RECRUITING HIGH QUALITY TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS
Study Island provides programs that help schools meet the goals of Title II by:
· Improving teacher quality through professional development designed to improve student achievement using research-based programs directly aligned with challenging state standards
· Offering professional development for teachers and administrators to ensure standards-based instruction and seamless technology integration
· Promoting communication among parents, teachers, administrators and students through the use of technology
· Providing parents with real-time reports of how their child stands in the mastery of required standards and meaningful opportunities to participate in their child’s education through the use of technology

TITLE III—LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION FOR LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT CHILDREN AND IMMIGRANT STUDENTS
Study Island provides programs that help schools meet the goals of Title III by:
· Promoting a focus on the mastery of challenging state standards by all children
· Providing standards-based, academic content instruction and assessment programs for all children
· Promoting communication among parents, teachers, administrators and students through the use of technology
· Providing parents with real-time reports of how their child stands in the mastery of required standards and meaningful opportunities to participate in their child’s education through the use of technology
· Helping schools measure their march towards adequate yearly progress (AYP)

TITLE IV—21ST CENTURY SCHOOLS
Study Island provides programs that help schools meet the goals of Title IV by:
· Providing programs that are designed to assist students in the mastery of challenging state standards through review, remediation and enrichment activities provided during out-of-school time
· Extending the learning day by allowing access to Study Island programs 24/7/365 through the use of technology
· Promoting communication among parents, teachers, administrators and students through the use of technology
· Providing parents with real-time reports of how their child stands in the mastery of required standards and meaningful opportunities to participate in their child’s education through the use of technology
· Contributing to the reduction of drug use and violence in the community by offering exciting, engaging, efficient and effective standards-based learning opportunities activities that extend for students and by making

TITLE V—PROMOTING INFORMED PARENTAL CHOICE AND INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS
Study Island provides programs that help schools meet the goals of Title V by:
· Providing schools with technology and tools to provide students with the opportunity to meet challenging state standards and student academic achievement standards
· Offering professional development to improve teacher quality by using technology effectively in the classrooms
· Providing schools with standards-based instructional and assessment tools that promote high academic standards and improve student academic achievement, including educationally disadvantaged students
· Providing schools with technology and tools that give teachers and administrators the knowledge and skills to provide students with the opportunity to meet challenging State standards and student academic achievement standards
· Providing schools with technology and tools to improve knowledge and skills in literacy, mathematics, science, and other subjects tested by the state assessment program
· Providing schools with technology and tools to serve underserved populations, including disadvantaged, illiterate, limited English proficient populations, and individuals with disabilities in mastering challenging state standards and improving assessment scores

Cool Links on many Study Island "Lessons"

At a recent training session, one teacher got really excited about the links at the bottom of the lesson page. These links, which are found on many, but not all lessons, takes you to additional resources (websites) for that topic area. This feature, that says “View Related Sites”, has links to Google sites and Education World sites.

It is a cool feature which can also be utilized when a teacher uses the "Class Page and Assignment" feature on the "Class Manager" page. Teachers should view the links provided from the lesson, select the top 2 or 3 then, add these as links on an assignment. I also suggest the teacher add a note that tells the students they can visit those sites for help and more information about the topic(s) that are a part of the assignment.

How can I implement Study Island with a limited number of computers?

1. Study Island Station- Use Study Island as a literacy or math station. You can do this by having students choose the topic you tell them in class or by setting up a class assignment on your class page. That way, you not only have students engaged in technology, but you will also have a built in record of what the student was doing at that station for the day.
2. Study Island Tutoring- Utilize Study Island during tutoring by teaching a mini-lesson to your whole tutoring group and then breaking students into smaller subgroups. Have one group of students practice the skill on Study Island while you work intensively with the other part of the group. After 15-20 minutes, have the groups switch places.
3. Guided Study Island- Use Study Island as a guided practice in your teacher station for guided reading or math. Organize your students into small groups by using the Class Manager feature on Study Island. Plan what skill you will focus on and create class assignments for each of your small group classes that have between 2-5 questions. You can even set the passing parameters based on the level of the group to match the ability level you will be working with. Then, introduce the skill during guided reading or math. For guided practice, have students login to Study Island to complete the assignment you created. By having them work on Study Island during the teacher rotation, you will have the ability to direct them to the class assignment you want them to take. You will also be able to have “teachable” moments to re-teach as you go.
4. Computer Station for Fast Finishers- Utilize Study Island on your class computers as students are finishing daily assignments. Put the topic of the week on a checklist by the computer station and have students check off their names as they finish.
5. Printable Worksheet Fun- Use the printable worksheet function to create class worksheets or cut the problems apart to create games.
6. Study Island as an Instructional Tool- Project Study Island onto a television or projector screen for all students to see using your teacher computer. By doing this you could:

a. Use a Study Island question as a warm up to introduce a lesson.

b. Make Study Island part of your daily morning practice.

c. Study as a class by talking through a test mode topic. Students could solve questions as you go by using dry erase boards or paper.

d. Utilize the last 5 minutes before the bell by playing Study Island game mode as a class.

e. Project Study Island at the end of a lesson or science experiment for a mini quiz to reinforce the concepts just practiced.

Have any good ideas of your own? Let me know and I'll post them here for others to see.

Using the Study Island "Printable Worksheet" feature

Study Island originally added this feature because of the feedback from teachers that said “all my students don’t have internet at home”. This feature allows everyone to work on standards-based questions with or without internet. However, it is just what it says it is – a worksheet that a teacher would print out—and someone needs to grade it. It has been truly inspiring to experience the ingenuity and creativity of teachers in how they utilize this feature. Nowadays, with all the technology available in some schools, we hear how teachers are using this feature as whole class, small group and, even individualized instruction as they project the page onto a screen or SMART Board or simply display it on a television screen for all to see.

Teachers can then bring up any Study Island topic and start using the questions as a basis for direct instruction. They can provide as much, or as little, help/instruction as they wish as they scroll down to each question. Prime emphasis #1: after the set-up and question and possible answers have been reviewed, teachers should ask the key question, “What is this question really asking?” This is a great test-taking skill to build with students to help assure they answer the question that is actually being asked. The students then bubble in their answers on their worksheets. Prime emphasis #2: teachers should have students write out why they think that is the correct answer; how did they determined that to be the correct answer; what evidence led them to conclude the best answer.

After the last question of the worksheet is answered, teachers can then collect the papers to grade with the supplied answer key or, better yet, have students grade their own. A key feature comes next as teachers continue to scroll down to display the explanations! Now teachers can instigate a class discussion, which becomes a wonderful “teachable moment” in how to write good explanations as the students compare their explanations and reasoning with what they see on the screen and with each other. This strategy really helps students focus on how to think and reason in order to answer similar questions and not so much on just getting the answer.

Next, teachers can simply scroll to the top of the screen, and click on the button to “Hide Answers” and “BAM!”, there you are with a set of prompts for open-ended/written response questions for the students to show what they have just learned during the direct instruction. Teachers, again, are given the all answers – in long-form – and all the explanations to review with the students just like before with the multiple choice option. This strategy is terrific for developing Depth of Knowledge (DOK) skills in students!

Additionally, the “Printable Worksheet” feature is invaluable when the regular classroom teacher has to be out of the classroom and a substitute is needed. Teachers no longer have to leave generic, “keep-the-kids-busy” activities for the sub. Now, the sub can be equipped with great standards-based questions, with and/or without multiple-choice answers shown; all the answers to both forms of questions; and all the explanations to both forms of questions.

The “Printable Worksheet” can also be saved as a MS Word document which is then fully editable. Teachers can add follow-up questions, add graphics, cut-and-paste to group certain types of questions, etc. This feature presents a perfect opportunity for students to explore DOK 2, 3, and 4 level questions further by having them “describe”, “explain”, “analyze”, etc. in their own words. Remember, every time the “Printable Worksheet” is selected, the Study Island program dips into the database of questions and pulls up a random set of questions. Teachers can print several different sets of worksheets to give to the class if they wish –even a different worksheet for each student!

The “Printable Worksheet” is a fantastic tool for teachers to use to help their students master their required KCC standards and, thus, increase their KCCT scores!



Here are some terms and examples of activities to use with Study Island when using the “Printable Worksheet” as direct instruction for developing DOK skills with your students. (These came from the KDE website with an acknowledgement at the end of the list.)

Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Levels
Level One (Recall)
Arrange Calculate
Define
Draw
Identify
Level One Activities
· Recall elements and details of story structure, such as sequence of events, character, plot and setting.
· Conduct basic mathematical calculations.
· Label locations on a map.
· Represent in words or diagrams a scientific concept or relationship.
· Perform routine procedures like measuring length or using punctuation marks correctly.
· Describe the features of a place or people.List
Memorize
Label
Illustrate
Measure
Report
Match
Recall
Recite
Tell
State
Tabulate
Recognize
Use
Name
Who, Where What, When, Why

Level Two (Skill/Concept)
Graph
Describe
Explain
Analyze
Classify
Level Two Activities
· Identify and summarize the major events in a narrative.
· Use context cues to identify the meaning of unfamiliar words.
· Solve routine multiple-step problems.
· Describe the cause/effect of a particular event.
· Identify patterns in events or behavior.
· Formulate a routine problem given data and conditions.
· Organize, represent and interpret data.
Separate
Cause/Effect
Estimate
Compare
Contrast
Estimate
Relate
Infer
Categorize
Collect and Display
Identify Patterns
Organize
Construct
Modify
Predict
Interpret
Distinguish
Use Content Clues
Make Observations
Summarize
Show

Level Three (Strategic Thinking)
Level Three Activities
· Support ideas with details and examples.
· Use voice appropriate to the purpose and audience.
· Identify research questions and design investigations for a scientific problem.
· Develop a scientific model for a complex situation.
· Determine the author’s purpose and describe how it affects the interpretation of a reading selection.
· Apply a concept in other contexts.
Revise
Apprise
Develop a Logical Argument
Assess
Construct
Compare
Use Concepts to Solve
Non-Routine Problems
Critique
Formulate
Draw Conclusions
Investigate
Differentiate
Cite Evidence
Hypothesize

Level Four Activities
· Conduct a project that requires specifying a problem, designing and conducting an experiment, analyzing its data, and reporting results/ solutions.
· Apply mathematical model to illuminate a problem or situation.
· Analyze and synthesize information from multiple sources.
· Describe and illustrate how common themes are found across texts from different cultures.
· Design a mathematical model to inform and solve a practical or abstract situation.
Level Four (Extended Thinking)
Design
Connect
Synthesize
Apply Concepts
Critique
Analyze
Create
Prove





Webb, Norman L. and others. “Web Alignment Tool” 24 July 2005. Wisconsin Center of Educational Research. University of Wisconsin-Madison. 2 Feb. 2006. .