KinderTEK Curriculum

KinderTEK is a research-based instructional program aligned with Common Core State Standards for early mathematics. It is based on robust instructional design principles.

KinderTEK guides students through a carefully structured instructional sequence that teaches and reviews early math skills for individual students. Along the way, students learn and earn rewards in a Safari Scrapbook. Learners earn stickers, photos of animals they’ve encountered, and badges while they use KinderTEK. Some rewards are given for mastery of Common Core standards while others are given intermittently to keep students engaged in the learning experience. We are currently expanding rewards types and themes. Adults will be able to customize reward themes and schedules for individual students

Common Core

KinderTEK development began after the release of the Common Core Standards, and the Common Core Standards are at the heart of KinderTEK curriculum. Activities and learning outcomes were developed to teach the critical whole number content comprising key Common Core domains.

KinderTEK is aligned with these Common Core State Standards for kindergarten mathematics:

Counting and Cardinality (K.CC)

Know number names and the count sequence (K.CC.A)
Count to tell the number of objects (K.CC.B)
Compare numbers (K.CC.C)

K Operations and Algebraic Thinking (K.OA)

Understand addition as putting together and adding to, and understand subtraction as taking apart and taking from (K.OA.A)

K Number and Operations in Base Ten (K.NBT)

Work with numbers 11-19 to gain foundations for place value (K.NBT.A)

For more information about Common Core, download a detailed listing of the Common Core – Kindergarten Mathematics standards or visit the official website for the Common Core – Kindergarten Mathematics

Instructional Design Principles

KinderTEK’s authoring and research team rooted proven instructional design principles in a technology context. KinderTEK incorporates the following key elements to serve all students, but particularly struggling learners and those receiving intervention services:

Focused, systematic instruction
Modeling and scaffolding
Deliberate practice opportunities
Timely academic feedback
Embedded formative assessment
Motivation strategies

KinderTEK reflects each of the eight recommendations in the IES practice guide, “Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Response to Intervention for Elementary and Middle Schools” through its thoughtfully chosen and implemented content, instructional approaches, assessment, and reporting.

Customizing KinderTEK to individual students and contexts

IIDO (Individualized Instructional Delivery Options)

Student engagement and attentiveness are important predictors of mathematics achievement and growth. KinderTEK developers are integrating three types of IIDOs: Rewards, Pacing, and Self-monitoring. Adults will be able to customize each in numerous ways to best serve the needs of individual students.

Multiple instructional modes

KinderTEK’s individualized educational system provides instruction and targeted practice shown to support deep and lasting learning. Every instructional activity models, supports, and scaffolds student learning. To support different learning goals and contexts, three different modes of instruction will be available to KinderTEK users:

Sequenced mode. This mode was developed to ensure step-by-step learning of targeted content. Detailed reports are available to teachers and parents. Students will master prerequisite skills before encountering more difficult ones, and will not spend excessive time on content they already understand. Each session builds on the one before. As such, it is the most appropriate mode for ongoing interventions.
- By default, sessions are 15 minutes long, and include work in a few content areas with time to view and interact with rewards.
- Each activity begins with a pretest to determine the student’s individual learning needs.
- Flexible, internal progress monitoring ensures mastery in each phase of learning before students move on to more independent and challenging tasks. Students may spend a few minutes in a given activity or revisit the activity each time they use KinderTEK. The activities vary based on individual student learning needs.
- Assessments at the end of each activity evaluate the extent to which students have mastered the content. Mastered activities become part of a review set for maintenance and fluency practice.
Exploration mode. In this mode, the child (or child with adult guidance) decides what to work on and for how long. This may be used to fill in particular skills or concepts, build fluency, or engage and motivate students who have mastered the content but could benefit from additional practice. Limited reports will be available for this mode.
Directed mode (Coming soon). This mode will be appropriate when teachers or parents wish for students to work on particular skills because those skills are relevant during that day’s lesson, represent a weak spot in students’ knowledge base, or will serve a larger progress monitoring purpose. Adults will lock and unlock activities based on students’ performance in KinderTEK or in the classroom. Detailed reports will be available for this mode.