~~~Source: Speak Up 2011 National Research Project~~~ Add Comment 
Helping You Address the DOE’s New “Competitive Preference Priorities” in Your Grant Application 12/12/2011
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2010 ComFit Testimonials 05/24/2011
 "Wow! You are amazing-and fast! I remember calling last semester with questions as well and, I must say, the people who help me are always so kind and eager to assist. I was not expecting that from a company that has so many schools to take care of, but I cannot tell you how happy it makes me. Thank you!" -State College Florida  "We are really looking forward to our training session. We are already very impressed with the results we are getting with our limited usage, so we are excited to learn about all of the possibilities." -University of Central Oklahoma  "I had my student look over the program and take the assessment, it actually surprised me with the results...he feels it would be extremely helpful in his learning. Also, many students walked past the computer and he told them what he was doing and many came asking me about it asking if it would help them prepare for the Compass test. It did perk interests among the students that would be using it." -Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College  "Every time I spoke with you on the phone, you were always patient and sympathetic, and always willing to help. I never doubted that the problem would be taken care of. Over the years as I've been teaching with technology, I've dealt with many companies that have been less than helpful...I can say that is always been a pleasure to deal with ComFit." -State College of Florida  We have come up with a new idea for the scoring algorithm we use in our drill-down assessments and we would like to get some feedback from you before we move ahead. The basic purpose of this new idea is to reduce the number of situations in which students answer a question “correctly,” not because they truly know or have a reasonable idea of the correct answer but because they’ve made a lucky guess. It is true, of course, that “lucky guesses” may indeed raise the overall score of an assessment. The problem, though, is that such guesses can also mask the presence of a skill gap that could well be exposed on subsequent assessments when the “lucky” guess is not so lucky. The idea we are considering by way of addressing this issue is to allow group administrators to choose from one of the following two scoring options: · Option 1. One point gets deducted whenever a student clicks on “I’m not sure,” leaves the question blank, or answers the question incorrectly; · Option 2. One point gets deducted whenever a student clicks on “I’m not sure” or leaves the question blank, but two points are deducted for each incorrectly answered question. We recognize that the second of these two options is likely to result in lower assessment scores. At the same time, however, we believe that the results produced by the second of the two options will produce a more accurate picture where students need help than would otherwise be the case. Keep in mind that regardless of what changes we make to the ComFit Online Learning Center, you will always have a choice. If you have an opinion on this matter, we would love to hear from you!
 The one question we get asked more than any other by directors who are otherwise happy with the results they’re getting from the ComFit Online Learning Center is this: “How do I get my students more motivated?” Unfortunately, we don’t have a “magic-bullet” answer to this question. But based on the feedback we’ve received from programs whose students are taking full advantage of everything our site offers, here are five suggestions: 1. Use the Group Learning Needs report to set up your “whole-class” lesson plans. Once students have been assessed, the Group Learning Needs report will give you a detailed picture of the following: · The number of students who need help with a particular concept · The names of those students If you use this data as the basis of your "whole-class" lesson plans, it will go a long way towards eliminating the motivation-depleting boredom that students inevitably feel whenever they are sitting in a classroom and being “taught” something they already know. 2. Build supervised, focused practice time into your curriculum. Rather than leaving it up to students to “practice on their own” or to limit their use of the ComFit Online Learning Center to “homework assignments,” see if you can make regularly scheduled practice periods (20 minutes to a half hour) a structural part of your program. If classroom sessions are held in a room equipped with computers, consider setting aside a portion of each session for individualized practice—with an instructor or tutor present to lend a helping hand, if needed. Otherwise, try to incorporate designated “workout periods” into the weekly schedule (especially during the summer). 3. Create incentives that reward effort as well as performance. Regardless of what incentives you may be using in your program (if any), do your best to connect them to not only achievement milestones but to effort milestones as well. In addition, keep in mind that frequent incentives keyed to short-term goals tend to work better than a single incentive keyed to a long-term goal. Here’s a simple example of a short-term, inexpensive incentive strategy. Whenever students are gathered together in a group but working individually, consider bringing a bowl or basket of individually-wrapped, bite-sized candy (i.e. Tootsie Rolls, Jolly Ranchers, etc.) to class. Each time a student scores 100% on a workout, have the student raise his or her hand, and toss that student a piece of candy, along with a word of congratulation. You’ll be surprised at how hard some students will work for a single piece of candy. 4. Turn individual practice drills into team competition. A good way to spike up the energy level in a computer lab where the students are intently working on their own is to turn a practice drill into a team activity. Here’s how to do it: · Organize the students into groups of three or four and assign a computer to each group. · Have the students choose a “captain” for the first “round” and suggest that students take turns playing the “captain” role. · Choose a practice test from the Practice Test Center. At this point, the rules work as follows: · Once you give the “start” command, each group goes through each question in the test and decides, by vote, which answer they wish to submit. (Note: If there’s a tie, the “captain” breaks it.) · If, after answering all the questions, the score is less than 100%, the test has to be retaken. · The “winner” in the competition is the first group that finishes with a perfect score. Added suggestion: With certain tests (language arts, for instance), have members of the winning team explain the rationale behind the correct answers. 5. Keep tabs on student activity However basic it may seem, the mere fact that you’ve provided students with content specifically keyed to their needs can be a motivator in and of itself. However, you have to stay on top of things—and give some extra prodding to students who aren’t doing the work. The “summary” option in the Individual Student Progress Report will make it easy for you to meet this challenge. Do you have any other ideas on how to increase the motivation levels of students? Let us know (info@ComFit.com), and we’ll share these ideas with other programs. 
| AboutComFit Online Learning Center is a research-driven instructional resource that accelerates academic performance and sets a bold new standard for individualized learning CategoriesAll ArchivesJanuary 2012 | ||||||||||||||||
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