MATHia Express Mode

Express Mode is a new MATHia experience being studied to help students spend less time practicing skills they have already mastered and more time working on skills they are still developing.

When MATHia has strong evidence that a student has already mastered a skill needed to complete a problem, Express Mode may automatically complete that step for the student. This allows the student to move forward without spending additional time practicing a skill they have already demonstrated.

Express Mode is not yet a standard feature. It is currently being studied to understand how it affects students’ experiences and learning. The study will use student responses and learning metrics to help determine whether Express Mode should become a future MATHia feature.

Because this is a study, students in the same class—and even students working in the same workspace—may have different experiences. For example, some students may experience Express Mode in Workspace 1, while others may experience the standard MATHia experience. When students move on to Workspace 2, their experiences may differ again.

What Express Mode Is—and Is Not

Express Mode is:

• A new MATHia experience being studied to understand how it affects student learning and engagement.
• A way for students to move more efficiently through skills they have already demonstrated mastery of.
• Based on the student data MATHia has collected about their learning.
• Designed to help students focus their practice where they need it most.

Express Mode is not:

• A "skip" button that allows students to bypass learning.
• A way to skip skills without evidence of mastery.
• Something teachers need to manage or monitor differently.

Why is Express Mode being studied?

Students can become frustrated when they spend too much time practicing skills they have already mastered. Express Mode is being studied to determine whether reducing this unnecessary practice helps students focus their time and effort on skills they are still developing.

The goal is to evaluate whether a more personalized experience—in which students’ demonstrated learning, rather than simply the number of problems they complete, helps determine where they spend their time—can improve the MATHia experience.

Student feedback and learning metrics collected during the study will help inform decisions about whether Express Mode should become a future feature.

What do teachers need to know?

• Express Mode is being studied with students in Grades 6–8.
• Express Mode is available only in a select set of MATHia workspaces included in the study.
• Students in the same class, and even students working in the same workspace, may have different experiences. Some students may use Express Mode, while others may continue with the current MATHia experience.
• Students’ experiences may change from one workspace to the next. A student who uses Express Mode in one workspace may have the standard MATHia experience in another, and vice versa.
• Teachers do not need to change how they assign or monitor MATHia workspaces.
• After completing a participating workspace, students will see a short survey about their experience. 
• The study results will help determine whether Express Mode becomes a future MATHia feature.

To learn more and see which workspaces are included, review the flyer below.