Case Study: Innovative 5th Grade Teacher Brings Cognitive Data to the Forefront of Teaching, Planning, and Learning
Stanley-Boyd School District
Andrea Mahr, a 5th grade teacher at Stanley Elementary School in the Stanley-Boyd School District in Stanley, Wisconsin, was interested in learning more about how her students learned, specifically, the ways in which they organized and processed information to complete their work. Having taught for thirteen years and currently serving on the fifth grade leadership team, she recognized a critical gap in her understanding of her students: she needed cognitive data about them.
Andrea Mahr, a 5th grade teacher at Stanley Elementary School in the Stanley-Boyd School District in Stanley, Wisconsin, was interested in learning more about how her students learned, specifically, the ways in which they organized and processed information to complete their work. Having taught for thirteen years and currently serving on the fifth grade leadership team, she recognized a critical gap in her understanding of her students: she needed cognitive data about them.
Andrea selected MindPrint Learning to help her gain a better understanding of her students’ learning strengths and challenges. Her goal was to use the cognitive data captured by MindPrint to develop students’ self-awareness, fostering a sense of ownership over their learning, and increasing higher order thinking skills. Ultimately, this would be reflected in high quality student work.
Andrea also utilized MindPrint data and resources to enhance family engagement. Andrea introduced MindPrint to parents and caregivers through a video that explained the assessment and how to read their student profiles (although she noted they are fairly self-explanatory). She then sent home each student’s profile, a selection of targeted strategies that students should be practicing at home, as well as strategies for how adults can support their child. Additionally, Andrea utilized the student profiles as a resource in parent-teacher conferences throughout the year.
Andrea quickly saw the benefits of using MindPrint's data with her students in just a few months of implementation. Specifically, Andrea gained new insights about her students and a noticeable increase in her students’ self-awareness. Her students talked about their stronger reasoning or memory skills, and specific strategies they used each week. The students felt a sense of pride and accomplishment in their strategy use and Andrea saw that translate to classroom engagement and work performance.
Additionally, Andrea noticed that off-task behavior among her students significantly decreased, and some of her students “turned a whole new leaf." Andrea long felt that the responsibility wasn’t solely on the teacher to help prepare students for middle school and beyond. She’s always believed that students need to take more ownership over their learning and behavior, but hadn’t found a way to release that responsibility until MindPrint. She says, “I feel that I have only slightly tapped into the many advantages that this information provides me. I feel like I do have a look into my students' internal processes, which I love.”
MindPrint Learning joined forces with the Modern Classrooms Project to offer a pilot combined program in the 2023-2024 school year. In this pilot, educators utilized the MindPrint Assessment, Learning Strategies, and MindPrint Science of Learning Professional Development to focus on strengths-based, personalized learning.
The Modern Classrooms Project is an innovative program that helps educators re-engineer their classrooms - so that every student, in every classroom, gets the support they need. Teachers join the movement by enrolling in an online professional development course focused on researched-backed instructional models including blended instruction, self-paced structures, and mastery-based learning.
