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Frequently Asked Questions

When should I use the assignments?

You can use the assignments whenever makes the most sense for you. Although intended for math class, you can use the assignments at any time throughout the day, such as homeroom or during a workshop period.

How often?

There’s no set frequency that we recommend — just whenever the assignments align to the content you’re teaching. You may decide to use an assignment over two days or to use two assignments in one day. There may be weeks where none of the assignments align to what you’re teaching, but other weeks when many of the assignments will fit well. On average, completing 2-3 assignments per week throughout the year would allow you to use all of the assignments with your students.

How long do the assignments take?

On average, assignments are designed to take about 15-20 minutes to complete.

Can I let my students work on the assignments together?

Absolutely. Many teachers have let us know that they find the assignments most beneficial when students work on the assignments together, since students start discussing the mathematics.

Do students have to answer the questions?

Research shows that at least attempting to answer the questions improves learning, so we suggest encouraging students to at least try to answer each question.

Do I have to use all of the assignments?

GeometryByExample was designed to be flexible — use as many or as few assignments as you like! However, past research has shown that the more students are exposed to worked examples the better! Also, note that you don’t have to use them all when first teaching the content — you can use them at any time throughout the year, such as a refresher when reviewing for spring standardized tests.

What if I don’t teach the content that some of the assignments cover?

We did our best to align the content of the assignments both to the Common Core State Standards and to the actual practice of high school geometry teachers. But if you don’t teach some of the content, don’t feel obligated to use the assignments. We expect the scope and sequence to be different from district to district, or even within a district.

Does any research support this approach?

Yes! Preliminary analyses demonstrate statistically significant results for students using the GeometryByExample materials. A previous study (AlgebraByExample) tested the effect of worked examples in Algebra assignments, too. Results of a randomized trial indicated significant impacts, the largest of which was for low achieving students.

Any other questions?

Ask us! Email info@serpinstitute.org if you have any additional questions, comments, or recommendations!

Development of GeometryByExample was led by Julie Booth (Temple University) through a SERP collaboration with teacher collaborators in schools in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee, California, and New Jersey. The collaboration has been supported to conduct this work by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A190126 to Temple University. The information provided does not represent views of the funders.