Scenario:
If you are a classroom teacher wondering how frequently and for how long you should use Speak Agent, read on!
Dosage Guidelines:
Large-scale impact research has shown that the more assigned activities are completed by students, the better the results. Completion of assigned activities is the #1 most important factor in students’ academic success. In order to achieve a mean gain of 10.3 percentile points in standardized math scores and 17 points on the ACCESS for ELs scale score, the required dosage is 10 learning activities per marking period or quarter. The recommended dosage, however, is to complete 10 learning activities per month. The reason for this recommendation is that independent research found that benefits continued to increase beyond the required dosage.
So how does this translate into time on task? We generally recommend that 30 to 60 minutes per week will be sufficient to achieve the recommended dosage. That said, all time is not equal. How you spend instructional time with Speak Agent will vary based on your scheduling and the age group that you are teaching. Speak Agent provides a great deal of flexibility with how to achieve the dosage. We generally recommended usage at least 2-3 times per week in smaller doses and not trying to pack it all in one day—especially for primary grades. Frequent, shorter bursts of usage has been shown to be more effective than a condensed approach.
Here is a fictional example of a dosage plan for a week:
Activity Length
A typical Speak Agent lesson, which often supports multiple lessons from your curriculum, contains anywhere from 5 to 10 learning activities. The amount of content varies based on the age range and the complexity of the topic and content. Each activity is a digital game or interactive exercise that requires listening, speaking, reading, writing, and/or visual representations. Students are always interacting with content that is aligned to the current unit in your curriculum.
A Speak Agent lesson provides a mix of short-form and long-form activities.
- Short-form activities can be done in as little as 5 minutes or less. These are typically used for independent practice and engagement at the beginning of a new unit of your curriculum or at the start of a class period.
- Long-form activities take 10 minutes or longer. They generally require higher cognition, integration of skills and knowledge, teacher moderation, and/or collaboration. These are sequenced toward the middle or end of a lesson. In the event a student cannot finish a long-form activity within the allotted time, all progress is saved and can be continued later by the student.
Speak Agent provides activity guides inside each lesson that walk you through how to use each type of activity effectively.
Mission accomplished!
