DreamBox Learning® today unveiled a revolutionary solution for teacher professional learning: MyFlexPD™. Leveraging its Intelligent Adaptive Learning™ engine along with real-time student proficiency data, DreamBox’s solution empowers teachers to learn more about math concepts on an as-needed basis to enhance differentiation and improve student performance.
“Before MyFlexPD, we didn’t know this type of solution to professional development was an option”
“Educators who have a deeper understanding of mathematics produce better gains in student achievement,” said Jessie Woolley-Wilson, president and CEO of DreamBox Learning. “And yet, administrators and educators experience significant challenges in providing and accessing professional learning that develops teachers’ math knowledge. Whether an educator is new to the profession or has years of classroom experience, MyFlexPD offers them immediate, relevant and actionable professional development.”
MyFlexPD provides educators with a dashboard overview of where students are in their learning progression, along with corresponding professional development options that will allow them to better guide student success. By empowering teachers with the confidence that comes from a richer understanding of specific mathematics concepts, administrators can support educators’ ability to differentiate their classroom instruction and increase student impact.
“With MyFlexPD, educators can predict what lessons children will need help with and prepare for those lessons by reviewing personalized DreamBox professional development on the topic,” said Dr. Chris Marczak, superintendent of Maury County Public Schools, one of the first districts to participate in an early feedback program of MyFlexPD. “By giving a teacher the ability to access this type of professional development in the exact moment they need it, we set them and their students up for success.”
This solution is designed to address some of the most significant challenges with professional development for educators. Typically, PD is offered at just a few set times throughout the year and is not always relevant to what a teacher is currently teaching. But DreamBox’s MyFlexPD is accessible anytime and anywhere with an internet connection, and it goes beyond product training to leverage the power of DreamBox’s research-proven curriculum to help teachers learn more about the math they need right when they need it.
DreamBox gained national attention last year when a study from the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University found that by using DreamBox for just 14 hours, students can increase achievement scores by four percentile points. These findings were in line with an earlier study that has made DreamBox the only elementary math software program to receive the highest rating of “Strong” on the website EvidenceForESSA.org.
Initial research of an early prototype of MyFlexPD included over 600 teachers and found that students demonstrated over 30 percent more growth when they had a teacher who engaged in DreamBox’s PD sessions. This next-generation prototype for professional learning was developed with a research grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. A recently published whitepaper describes the project and research in more detail so that educators and other developers can benefit from DreamBox’s experience.
“We are grateful for our partnership with the foundation, which shares our vision of empowering educators,” Woolley-Wilson said. “This partnership allowed us to explore innovation in professional development that supports the adult learner. The knowledge we gained through this exploration is the tipping point for creating new resources that will improve professional learning in the future.”
“Before MyFlexPD, we didn’t know this type of solution to professional development was an option,” Marczak said. “Personalized, job-embedded professional development will revolutionize the way educators approach professional learning.”
