The Intelligent Tutoring System

Individualized Instruction for Special Education Success

Whether used separately or as part of a Response to Intervention Model, the Intelligent Tutoring System is a powerful tool to help teachers deliver the individualized instruction typically needed by students who have been identified with high incidence disabilities.  Assessments, curriculum and program management, all coordinated by algorithms, help Special Education students achieve the Common Core State Standards through rigorous, relevant and high quality individualized reading and mathematics instruction.

Diagnostic Assessment

New Century’s adaptive online Diagnostic Test helps teachers identify students in need of Early Intervening Services and provides baseline performance data in separate skills or “strands” of learning.  Data from the Diagnostic Test is also used by the algorithms to automatically create an Individualized Achievement Plan (IAP) prescribed for each student.

Highly Individualized Instruction

Instruction begins with each student’s unique skill/knowledge base and builds to proficiency. The prescribed IAP is highly personalized, targeting specific skill gaps by learning objective rather than an entire level or unit of instruction, so learning is efficient with relatively quick gains. The lessons also maximize attention and engagement by being self-paced and providing students additional time—without the anxiety and pressure of performing in face-to-face instruction. The software is infinitely patient, providing extended opportunities for students to master key instructional objectives. The online learning environment also limits distractions and helps students with ADHD to focus.

Continuous Assessment to Adapt Instruction

Short interim assessments are embedded in the student’s lesson path after every few lessons. Using this data, and the criterion reference items at the end of each lesson, the software automatically adjusts the IAP as students advance, adding remedial instruction when needed and accelerating quick learners through their lessons. Teachers are provided with continuous performance data to implement a Response to Intervention model.    (See Response to Intervention)

Standards Aligned Curriculum

The Intelligent Tutoring System utilizes rigorous content correlated to Common Core State Standards. The research based curriculum and individualized lesson paths support the needs of Special Ed teachers to successfully instruct across multiple skill levels and content areas. New Century’s curriculum uses examples from science, history, and geography to teach cross curricular content that is age appropriate, even for older students struggling with lower level reading and math skills.

Developmental Lessons

The Intelligent Tutoring System’s pedagogically sound instructional design accommodates the individual learning styles, multiple intelligences, and interests of Special Ed students. Extensive use of aural instruction, combined with on-screen content and illustrations in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics, creates a multidimensional learning environment for Special Needs students.  New Century also uses different forms of interactivity (drag and drop, fill in the blank, hotspot, matching) found in most contemporary on-line tests.  Most importantly, the lessons are designed to function like a digital tutor providing guided examples and instruction.  The digital tutor introduces concepts and provides feedback at each step of the exercises used to confirm a student’s increasing understanding of the learning objective.  Ultimately, students complete items independently to confirm mastery. Struggling students automatically receive additional examples and instruction within the lesson.

Teacher Management System

Teachers can access assessment results and instructional IAPs quickly, and can efficiently manage the learning of students at varied ability levels. These reports, along with Parent Letters (automatically generated and available in English and Spanish), provide an efficient means for teachers to populate IAP folders and inform parents regularly of their student’s progress.

New Century Delivers the Components for all Tiers of Your District’s RtI Model

(Response to Intervention)

Special Noah Text® Lessons to Help Those with Dyslexia and Other Struggling Readers  

New Century has worked with researchers at Michigan State and with Sarah Blodgett, developer of Noah Text®, to develop special lessons written in Noah Text®.  Noah Text® is a phonologically scaffolded text that helps students decode more complex words, so they spend less cognitive effort on decoding and are more able to understand and appreciate what they are reading.  Reading specialists use chapter books written in Noah Text® to help their students read what is often their first chapter book.  The New Century lesson series has the students reading three chapter books on “The Mystical Years of Franklin Noah Peterson”, along with exercises to improve vocabulary, and to build skills in literal comprehension, inference and main idea. Some students will bridge themselves to reading plain text.  For more on Noah Text®, click here.

Results with Special Needs Students Confirmed in Research

The research using New Century software includes a randomized/controlled study by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency among juvenile justice students, 38% of which were special needs students.  The study was reviewed by Rand Corporation as part of a metastudy reviewing 157 research manuscripts to identify what works in the education of juvenile justice students.  This study using New Century software as the “intensive, personalized, competency-based instructional model tailored to each student’s academic development” among the experimental group was one of only two interventions cited by Rand out of the 157 studies that “showed particular promise.”  Graduation rates were higher among the experimental group (44.1 versus 22.0 percent).  “Differences were pronounced and statistically significant in all three diploma categories, though they were greatest in the GED and special diploma categories.”  See summary of report: Rand-NCCD Study

It is important to note that students typically will progress in proportion to their time on task with the Intelligent Tutoring System.  Implementing New Century both in school and with assigned lessons to be completed at home will increase learning time and learning gains.