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	<title>M2 Archives - Swivl</title>
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		<title>How M2&#8217;s AI rubric scoring aligns with expert human evaluators</title>
		<link>https://www.swivl.com/2026/02/20/ai-rubric-scoring-swivl-m2/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gerard Dawson]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Feb 2026 18:28:50 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[M2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[M2 & M2 APP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[classroom observations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[feedback]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.swivl.com/?p=107126</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>For AI rubric scoring to be useful in a school or district, it has to be trustworthy. That means it needs to score the way a trained evaluator would score: [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2026/02/20/ai-rubric-scoring-swivl-m2/">How M2&#8217;s AI rubric scoring aligns with expert human evaluators</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>For AI rubric scoring to be useful in a school or district, it has to be trustworthy. That means it needs to score the way a trained evaluator would score: consistently, accurately, and in a way that reflects what your organization actually values. Without that trust, the data becomes noise and the feedback loses its credibility. This means AI&#8217;s potential to drive meaningful improvement goes unrealized.</p>



<p>At Swivl, we take this seriously. This post explains what we&#8217;ve done to ensure M2 scores like a trained human evaluator, and how we continue to monitor and refine that accuracy over time.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">M2&#8217;s Custom Rubrics</h4>



<p>M2 provides organizations a way to define the instructional criteria that matter most to their team. Through <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/12/23/m2-rubric-builder/">M2&#8217;s custom rubrics feature</a>, organizational leaders can specify performance indicators and scoring criteria that reflect their values and expectations.&nbsp;</p>



<p>After each lesson, M2 evaluates the teaching activity against those rubrics and returns a score on a 1–4 scale, along with feedback explaining the score, highlighting strengths, and identifying areas for growth.</p>



<p>The promise of this feature is powerful: frequent, consistent, criteria-aligned feedback at scale, without walk-throughs or high-pressure observations. But that promise only holds if the scores are accurate.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The problem we set out to solve</h4>



<p>Early in M2&#8217;s development, we identified a scoring distribution challenge: the system was returning scores that clustered in the middle of the scale, producing mostly 2s and 3s regardless of actual instructional quality. This is a common challenge when building AI scoring systems. The model hedges rather than discriminates, and the result is feedback that feels generic and uninformative.</p>



<p>We needed M2 to produce a score distribution that looked like what trained evaluators produce, which is an appropriate 1–4 spread that reflects genuine differences in instructional performance.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">How we calibrated M2 against expert evaluators</h4>



<p>To address this, we built an evaluation dataset using classroom observation videos that had already been scored by highly trained human evaluators. These were not casual reviewers, but evaluators with deep familiarity with professional teaching rubrics and established inter-rater reliability.</p>



<p>We then ran M2 against those same videos and compared the output.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="1024" height="461" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/before-1024x461.png" alt="" class="wp-image-107137" style="width:920px;height:auto" srcset="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/before-1024x461.png 1024w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/before-800x360.png 800w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/before-768x346.png 768w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/before-1536x691.png 1536w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/before-2048x922.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>Early M2 rubric scoring revealed a common challenge in AI systems: a distribution that doesn’t match that of an expert human evaluator.</em></figcaption></figure>
</div>


<p>The gap between the two distributions was clear. Our human evaluators produced the kind of spread you&#8217;d expect from a well-calibrated rubric: a meaningful range of 1s, 2s, 3s, and 4s. M2&#8217;s initial output clustered near the middle.</p>



<p>From there, we went through an iterative calibration process: adjusting how M2 analyzes transcripts, restructuring the way rubric criteria are applied, and refining the scoring methodology at each step. Each iteration was tested against the same evaluation dataset and compared to the human baseline.</p>



<p>One key improvement came from how we structured M2&#8217;s rubric evaluation process. Rather than evaluating a lesson holistically, we introduced a more structured, criterion-by-criterion approach. Essentially, we gave M2 a more disciplined framework for applying each rubric dimension, similar to how a trained observer would work through an evaluation instrument item by item.</p>



<p>We also differentiated M2&#8217;s feedback language by score level. A score of 1 now more clearly focuses on what was missing and what the teacher can do differently. A score of 4 now emphasizes what went well and why it was effective. This mirrors how skilled coaches communicate; the message you deliver to a struggling teacher is structurally different from the message you deliver to a strong one.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="1024" height="461" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/after-1024x461.png" alt="" class="wp-image-107138" style="width:996px;height:auto" srcset="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/after-1024x461.png 1024w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/after-800x360.png 800w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/after-768x346.png 768w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/after-1536x691.png 1536w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/after-2048x922.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>Through ongoing, extensive efforts to calibrate M2’s AI rubric scoring, the distribution now comes remarkably close to that of an expert human evaluator.</em></figcaption></figure>
</div>


<p>After calibration, M2&#8217;s score distributions align closely with those of our human evaluators. The gap narrowed substantially, and M2 now produces the range and differentiation that makes feedback actionable.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">What the remaining differences tell us</h4>



<p>The goal of this calibration was less about achieving a perfect match, and more about understanding where differences exist and why. There are cases where M2 and human evaluators diverge, and those cases are instructive.</p>



<p>Most remaining differences occur at the boundaries of rubric descriptors: situations where a teaching performance sits between a 2 and a 3, for example, and reasonable evaluators could score it either way. This is not a failure of the AI. Instead, it reflects the same ambiguity that human evaluators navigate.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In fact, inter-rater reliability among trained human evaluators on rubric items like these is rarely 100%, and M2&#8217;s agreement rate with our evaluators compares favorably to the agreement rate between two independent human scorers on the same material.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For now, one unique capability of human evaluators is eyesight. M2 currently relies on class transcripts for the analysis that leads to scores and feedback. However, we are investigating the safe, privacy-centric approach to bringing visual evaluation capabilities to M2 in upcoming releases.</p>



<p>Understanding boundary cases and the work process of AI vs. humans helps us continue to define clear paths for improvement.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ongoing monitoring and refinement</h4>



<p>Calibration is not a one-time event. As M2 is deployed across diverse classrooms, grade levels, and instructional contexts, we continue to monitor scoring accuracy and precision.</p>



<p>We define accuracy as how closely M2&#8217;s scores align with a trained human evaluator. We define precision as how consistent M2&#8217;s scoring is across similar lessons. In other words, whether it gives comparable scores when evaluating comparable teaching. Both accuracy and precision matter.</p>



<p>Our team runs ongoing comparisons between M2 output and human-evaluated samples, identifying drift and opportunities to improve. When we find systematic gaps, we refine our approach and re-validate. This continuous loop is what allows M2&#8217;s scoring to remain trustworthy over time, not just at the point of initial release.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The result: consistent, trustworthy feedback</h4>



<p>When an organization deploys M2 with custom rubrics, they are not getting a black-box AI generating arbitrary scores. They are getting a scoring system that has been explicitly calibrated to match how trained evaluators apply rubric criteria — and that is continuously monitored to stay that way.</p>



<p>This is what makes M2&#8217;s frequent feedback valuable. Not just that teachers receive more of it, but that the feedback they receive is grounded in the same framework a skilled evaluator would apply. The score of 3 a teacher receives on Monday should mean the same thing as the score of 3 they receive two weeks later, because M2 applies its criteria consistently.</p>



<p>When teachers and leaders can trust the scores, they can use them. Coaching conversations become more specific. Professional development becomes more targeted. And leaders gain a reliable, ongoing view of where their organization is performing and where it needs to grow — without the cost and inconsistency of traditional evaluation systems.</p>



<p>M2&#8217;s AI rubric scoring is built to earn that trust. And we&#8217;ve done the work to prove it.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2026/02/20/ai-rubric-scoring-swivl-m2/">How M2&#8217;s AI rubric scoring aligns with expert human evaluators</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">107126</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Supporting multilingual learners beyond language: How M2 connects English development and academic learning</title>
		<link>https://www.swivl.com/2026/02/06/ell-mtss-support-m2/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gerard Dawson]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 19:49:07 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[M2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MTSS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[students]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.swivl.com/?p=106766</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>There are over 5 million English Language Learners (ELL) in U.S. public schools, and they face a challenge most of their peers don&#8217;t: learning English and academic content at the [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2026/02/06/ell-mtss-support-m2/">Supporting multilingual learners beyond language: How M2 connects English development and academic learning</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>There are over 5 million English Language Learners (ELL) in U.S. public schools, and they face a challenge most of their peers don&#8217;t: learning English <em>and</em> academic content at the same time.</p>



<p>This creates a serious assessment problem. When an ELL student struggles in math, is it a math problem or a language problem? If a student stops participating, are they disengaged or simply unable to follow along? Without the right tools, it&#8217;s nearly impossible to tell.</p>



<p>The result: many ELL students end up in Tier 2 and Tier 3 MTSS interventions when what they actually need is better language support. Schools consume intervention resources on the wrong problem while the real need is treated as secondary.</p>



<p>Considering the scale of the ELL population, the stakes to this challenge are real. Performance on language proficiency assessments like TELPAS and WIDA ACCESS influences funding, program placement, and how schools allocate resources. Schools need a way to support both language learning and academic learning at the same time without adding more to teachers&#8217; plates.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">M2 supports the whole learner, not just the language learner</h4>



<p>M2, Swivl&#8217;s AI-integrated classroom robot, listens during instruction and turns what’s happening in the classroom into meaningful support for both teachers and students.</p>



<p>Through translation, speaking practice, small group learning, and more, M2 supports ELL students across both aspects of their learning journey: English and academics.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Keep kids connected to academic content</h4>



<p class="has-theme-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b544c19501b7f3c49ff6a3a7758f7d5f"><strong>In-ear language support</strong></p>



<p>With M2&#8217;s in-ear audio support, ELL students receive immediate translated summaries of instruction, delivered privately through an earbud without interrupting class. Students grab their assigned M2 remote, plug in an earbud, and tap to hear a brief recap of recent instruction in their home language.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="960" height="960" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/img-_11_.webp" alt="A student sitting in a classroom wearing a wired earpiece" class="wp-image-106099" style="width:auto;height:400px" srcset="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/img-_11_.webp 960w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/img-_11_-800x800.webp 800w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/img-_11_-400x400.webp 400w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/img-_11_-768x768.webp 768w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/img-_11_-600x600.webp 600w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/img-_11_-375x375.webp 375w" sizes="(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">M2&#8217;s live, in-ear translations summarize class for English Learners, so language isn&#8217;t the barrier for academic progress.</figcaption></figure>
</div>


<p>This keeps students connected to the content of their daily lessons while they continue developing proficiency in English. They can follow along, participate, and build comprehension all while their English skills grow through immersion.</p>



<p class="has-theme-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1639872948b1496e32790660f12ea1f2"><strong>Out loud translations and summaries</strong></p>



<p>The Ask M2 feature allows teachers and students to request summaries or translations of class content at any moment. Then, those responses are played aloud in high-quality audio for the whole group.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="1024" height="563" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/m2_korean_qa-1-1024x563.jpg" alt="M2 by Swivl translates into any language and answers questions in real time." class="wp-image-96322" style="width:auto;height:400px" srcset="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/m2_korean_qa-1-1024x563.jpg 1024w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/m2_korean_qa-1-800x440.jpg 800w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/m2_korean_qa-1-768x422.jpg 768w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/m2_korean_qa-1.jpg 1400w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">M2 can speak out loud to share class summaries, restate important questions, or explain key concepts in 50+ languages.</figcaption></figure>
</div>


<p>This means students can get the clarification they need to keep following the day’s lesson, and teachers can offer immediate language support without needing to speak the student’s native language themselves.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Offer more reps to build communication skills</h4>



<p>Proficiency assessments like TELPAS are so challenging because speaking and writing are the hardest domains to develop. Students need to practice communicating, not just listening and reading. M2 creates natural opportunities for that practice.</p>



<p class="has-theme-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-813cdf3f7d9099fc15e0248799d5ac33"><strong>Adaptive, standards-aligned speaking activities</strong></p>



<p>Talks are M2’s adaptive, standards-aligned verbal assessments that let students process learning in their home language or practice expressing ideas in English.<br><br>Imagine having the time to assess every multilingual or Tier 2 and 3 student’s learning in a one to one conversation after any lesson. That’s what Talks can do.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="960" height="960" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/get-talking.gif" alt="Woman with laptop get talking" class="wp-image-106252" style="width:auto;height:400px"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">M2 offers adaptive, standards-based verbal assessments that ELL students can complete in English or their native language.</figcaption></figure>
</div>


<p>After each Talk, the teacher gets a concise yet informative report on students’ understanding of the standards, skills, and/or content related to the assignment, helping teachers understand what students actually know, not just what they can express in English.</p>



<p class="has-theme-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-2f343426b598af2adf1569fa511bdd58"><strong>Guided small group learning with language and content support</strong></p>



<p>Guides are small group learning activities that M2 can generate live during class or that teachers can pre-plan for the day’s lesson.<br><br>M2 speaks aloud to share each step of a Guide to students, and is available to translate or answer student questions about the content or the activity during the experience.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="480" height="480" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/img-16-1.webp" alt="Three students working together to build a structure using spaghetti and marshmallows, with M2" class="wp-image-106732" style="width:auto;height:400px" srcset="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/img-16-1.webp 480w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/img-16-1-400x400.webp 400w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/img-16-1-375x375.webp 375w" sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">M2 can guide students through scaffolded, small group learning activities. At any point, students can ask M2 for language support or academic clarification.</figcaption></figure>
</div>


<p>Unlike traditional group work that can lack structure and scaffolds, Guides ensure students progress through a learning activity at the appropriate pace and with the support they need, both for language and academics.</p>



<p>When ELL students are paired with native English speakers for a Guide, there is an additional benefit of academic conversation practice in a low-stakes setting.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Use leading indicators to provide proactive support</h4>



<p>Traditional MTSS relies on assessment data that often arrives too late. By the time test scores reveal a student is struggling, weeks or months have passed.</p>



<p>M2 changes the equation by providing leading indicators that can help educators flag potential issues before they become entrenched problems.</p>



<p class="has-theme-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f6e21982959dd48dee640d2922665b13"><strong>Data-driven grouping and differentiation</strong> </p>



<p>M2 enables smarter targeted support through grouping students by today&#8217;s needs rather than weeks or months-old assessment data. Teachers get a tier-based breakdown after the class completes a Talk.</p>



<p class="has-theme-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b36e6a63c7a96efdba27d81633b2439b"><strong>Admin dashboards for empowered decisions</strong></p>



<p class="has-theme-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b662e87a6f5de3a41764c0565b79a10b">M2&#8217;s admin dashboard offers leaders an organization-wide look into student learning trends and a snapshot of progress on initiatives that affect special student populations.<br><br>Importantly, the admin dashboard gives leaders insights without sharing classroom transcripts nor identifying individual students or teachers.<br><br><strong>Shape teacher feedback at the org level</strong></p>



<p>When you devote resources to ELL support and MTSS, providing ongoing feedback to support implementation is essential but time-consuming. M2 offers two powerful ways for leaders to scale the strategies and priorities that help ensure everyone in the organization is moving in the same direction.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The system prompt allows admins to provide high-level guard rails, look-fors, and directions for all teacher feedback, making each M2 a classroom champion for your organization values and goals.<br><br>Custom rubrics enable automated, low-stakes teacher feedback and scoring on how daily instruction aligns with your initiatives. Simply upload a document or add the rubric criteria that matter to you, and M2 begins providing feedback and scores focused on that area after every class session.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Real impact in real classrooms</h4>



<p>Schools using M2 are already seeing the difference in their ELL populations:</p>



<p>&#8220;Our multilingual students feel empowered when M2 responds in their native language, making them feel seen and valued.&#8221; – Erika Inka, Instructional Coach, Barrington School District 220</p>



<p>&#8220;Students see M2 as a helpful friend, especially those learning English who can now engage more easily.&#8221; – Meagan MacDonald, Instructional Coach, Barrington School District 220</p>



<p>When students feel included and supported, everything changes. Participation increases. Confidence grows. Academic performance improves. And schools see better outcomes on the assessments that matter—not through test prep, but through genuine learning.</p>



<div style="height:50px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Better outcomes and smart resource management</h4>



<p>Supporting ELL students effectively is the right thing to do and the smartest choice for leaders with a focus on resource management. With the right tools in place, schools can position themselves to:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Reduce the number of students who need intensive Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions</li>



<li>Allocate MTSS resources more strategically</li>



<li>Improve school performance ratings as student outcomes rise</li>



<li>See gains on assessments like TELPAS and WIDA ACCESS—along with the funding tied to those scores</li>
</ul>



<p>M2 gives schools a path toward proactive, integrated support that addresses the whole student, not just the language learner.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2026/02/06/ell-mtss-support-m2/">Supporting multilingual learners beyond language: How M2 connects English development and academic learning</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">106766</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>The M2 score: what it measures and why it matters</title>
		<link>https://www.swivl.com/2026/01/22/m2-score-participation-measures-why-it-matters/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gerard Dawson]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Jan 2026 16:31:03 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Classroom Inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[M2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[M2 & M2 APP]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.swivl.com/?p=106092</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>The M2 score measures participation as the foundational condition for learning. It captures whether a classroom consistently creates, sustains, and distributes opportunities for thinking—moment by moment, across an entire lesson. [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2026/01/22/m2-score-participation-measures-why-it-matters/">The M2 score: what it measures and why it matters</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<p><strong>The M2 score measures participation as the foundational condition for learning.</strong></p>



<p>It captures whether a classroom consistently creates, sustains, and distributes opportunities for thinking—moment by moment, across an entire lesson.</p>



<p>Participation is not a side effect of good instruction. It is the primary result of good instruction. When participation is strong, curricula come alive for teachers and students. When participation is weak, even the best materials fall flat. M2 exists to make that invisible truth measurable.</p>



<p><em>Why participation and not engagement?</em></p>



<p>Engagement in learning matters, but not all of it is objectively observable. Participation is the observable layer of engagement. It is behavioral and concrete, spans many dimensions—speaking, writing, questioning, persisting, building—and, we believe, can become a durable capability students carry beyond any lesson into the real world.</p>



<p>That’s <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2026/01/23/participation-makes-the-difference/">why we focus on participation</a>.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Why Participation Is What Makes the Difference</strong></h4>



<p>Participation is the engine of effective instruction. It’s what separates strong teaching from exceptional teaching and determines whether curriculum is truly being implemented or merely covered.</p>



<p>Instructional frameworks like Danielson, Marzano, and <em>Teach Like a Champion</em> all recognize this. They emphasize participation through domains, components, and moves. But their complexity makes participation hard to see clearly and even harder to act on consistently.</p>



<p>M2 cuts through that complexity with simplicity and focus, and <strong>treats participation as the single, fundamental indicator of instructional success.</strong></p>



<p>By making participation measurable, M2 gives teachers clear goals and actionable feedback, turning improvement into something practical, repeatable, and achievable every day. feedback, turning improvement into something practical, repeatable, and achievable every day.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">What the M2 score measures (at a high level)</h4>



<p>M2 does not measure student learning after the fact. <strong>It measures how classrooms make learning possible.</strong></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1106" height="600" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/m2-meter-all-devices-blog-1.gif" alt="M2 classroom device displaying a participation meter that shows how the class is participating, alongside connected teacher dashboards on laptop and phone.
" class="wp-image-106261"/></figure>



<p>Specifically, the M2 score captures participation as a <strong>collective, time-based property of instruction</strong>: how thinking emerges, spreads, deepens, and recovers throughout a lesson. These patterns reveal the conditions the teacher has created for student learning.</p>



<p>Across thousands of classrooms, M2 organizes participation into three essential attributes:</p>



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Participation is made possible</strong><strong><br></strong></li>



<li><strong>Participation is sustained</strong><strong><br></strong></li>



<li><strong>Participation is distributed</strong><strong><br></strong></li>
</ol>



<p>Each attribute shows up through observable instructional signals. M2 detects and interprets these signals during class, displaying participation status in real time. When the meter is above the line, it indicates that everyone is on task and that opportunities to share and participate are being created and sustained.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">How M2 makes participation possible</h4>



<p>Participation must be possible before it can happen, and teachers create those conditions.</p>



<p>M2 looks for whether the teacher invites thinking through:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Clear routines and norms for participating<br></li>



<li>Questions and tasks aligned to the learning objective<br></li>



<li>Structures that allow students’ voices and ideas to surface (whole group discussion, small group collaboration, focused independent work)</li>
</ul>



<p>Whenever students are applying their minds toward a learning activity, whether that’s speaking, writing, problem-solving, or reading, they are participating. M2 captures whether instruction consistently opens the door for that to occur.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">How M2 measures sustained participation</h4>



<p>Participation that flickers but then dims doesn’t lead to learning. It has to persist for the whole class.</p>



<p>M2 measures whether participation holds across time by observing:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Dwell time after questions: </strong>How long does the teacher allow students to sit with uncertainty? Is silence tolerated? Does thinking have time to emerge?<br></li>



<li><strong>Return to ideas:</strong> Do students and teachers revisit and build upon earlier ideas, or does the lesson reset every minute?<br></li>



<li><strong>Recovery after struggle: </strong>When the class gets stuck, do they give up or persist with teacher support?</li>
</ul>



<p>These signals show whether participation is brittle or resilient, shallow or cumulative.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/image-full-width-teacher-scaled.webp" alt="students working in classroom with M2 and meter" class="wp-image-106402" style="aspect-ratio:16/9;object-fit:cover;width:854px;height:auto"/></figure>
</div>


<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">How M2 measures distributed participation</h4>



<p>Learning improves when thinking is distributed across the class. When students expect the same few classmates to answer every question, the learning stops with those few kids. M2 helps ensure everyone is involved in the cognitive participation required to move the lesson forward.</p>



<p>M2 looks at the <strong>distribution of participation over time</strong>:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Is thinking concentrated with the same few student voices all class, or does it broaden to include everyone?<br></li>



<li>Does the teacher work to bring new contributors into the discussion as the lesson progresses?</li>
</ul>



<p>M2 does <em>not</em> track who spoke, how often, or how loudly. It observes whether the lesson structure invites many minds into the work.</p>



<p>Distributed participation also shows up during:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Transitions between modes</strong>: Some students succeed in whole-class settings, while others thrive in a pair activity. Certain kids thrive when giving factual explanations while others jump in to offer synthesis.<br></li>



<li><strong>Moments of social learning: </strong>Is the room focused on a common idea, or fragmented across individual tasks and distractions?</li>
</ul>



<p>These are fragile moments where participation often collapses, and where strong instruction keeps it alive.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="1024" height="563" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/m2-score-what-measures-why-matters-m2talk-on-tablet-1024x563.png" alt="Distributed classroom participation as students engage in discussion facilitated by instructional tools.
" class="wp-image-106157" srcset="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/m2-score-what-measures-why-matters-m2talk-on-tablet-1024x563.png 1024w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/m2-score-what-measures-why-matters-m2talk-on-tablet-800x440.png 800w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/m2-score-what-measures-why-matters-m2talk-on-tablet-768x422.png 768w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/m2-score-what-measures-why-matters-m2talk-on-tablet-1536x845.png 1536w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/m2-score-what-measures-why-matters-m2talk-on-tablet-2048x1126.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">What the M2 score does <em>not</em> measure</h4>



<p>To stay meaningful, M2 is intentionally limited.&nbsp; It does <strong>not</strong> measure:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Individual student behavior<br></li>



<li>Who spoke how much<br></li>



<li>Compliance proxies (posture, eye contact, stillness, hand-raising frequency)<br></li>



<li>Emotional states, moods, or affect<br></li>



<li>Permanent student records, rankings, or behavior histories<br></li>
</ul>



<p>Feelings fluctuate, and behavior can vary day to day, but <strong>participation</strong> <strong>persists in a classroom focused on learning. </strong>As a result, M2 provides insight without surveillance and feedback without labeling.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The M2 Participation Rubric</strong></h4>



<p>Our work as the creators of M2 involves distilling the philosophy laid out above into a repeatable rubric that can be used to measure and report on instruction in a variety of teaching and learning contexts. When a teacher begins a new class with M2, we use this rubric to measure the participation occurring:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>1: Minimal student voice; mostly teacher talk; few or no student responses.<br></li>



<li>2: Some participation but uneven; short or prompted responses; limited peer-to-peer.<br></li>



<li>3: Many students contribute; responses show thinking; teacher facilitates distribution.<br></li>



<li>4: Broad, sustained participation; students build on ideas; evidence of collaboration and ownership.</li>
</ul>



<p>This rubric powers the real-time participation meter and post-class scoring and feedback. Together, these give teachers a granular yet actionable measure of how they are helping to create, sustain, and distribute opportunities for participation in their classroom.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" width="1024" height="563" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/m2-score-what-measures-why-matters-insights-2-1024x563.png" alt="" class="wp-image-106151" srcset="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/m2-score-what-measures-why-matters-insights-2-1024x563.png 1024w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/m2-score-what-measures-why-matters-insights-2-800x440.png 800w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/m2-score-what-measures-why-matters-insights-2-768x422.png 768w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/m2-score-what-measures-why-matters-insights-2-1536x845.png 1536w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/m2-score-what-measures-why-matters-insights-2-2048x1126.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Why the M2 score matters</h4>



<p>The M2 score makes participation visible without turning classrooms into compliance systems. It gives teachers feedback they can act on immediately. It reframes instructional improvement as something grounded in daily practice, not abstract evaluation.</p>



<p>When the class centers on frequent, shared, quality participation, a shared goal emerges, and student and teacher incentives align. Students transform from passive consumers of information to active cognitive participators in their own learning. The teachers mindset shifts from covering curricular to creating the conditions for deep understanding to emerge.</p>



<p></p>



<p>M2 measures those conditions, so great teaching can be built deliberately, not left to chance.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2026/01/22/m2-score-participation-measures-why-it-matters/">The M2 score: what it measures and why it matters</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">106092</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Turning district priorities into consistent classroom feedback: M2’s Rubric Builder</title>
		<link>https://www.swivl.com/2025/12/23/m2-rubric-builder/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gerard Dawson]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2025 12:50:27 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[M2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Teacher Support]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[instructional coaching]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MTSS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teacher feedback]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.swivl.com/?p=105612</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>We built M2 with a feedback focus on engagement, questioning, and pacing. Why? Because insights in these three areas make a difference for every teacher we know.&#160; Many districts have [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/12/23/m2-rubric-builder/">Turning district priorities into consistent classroom feedback: M2’s Rubric Builder</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<p>We built M2 with a feedback focus on engagement, questioning, and pacing. Why? Because insights in these three areas make a difference for every teacher we know.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Many districts have also adopted their own high-quality instructional frameworks and <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/12/08/m2-mtss-teacher-support/">initiatives</a>. Turning those priorities into consistent, scalable classroom support, though, is challenging. </p>



<p>This is where M2 can help.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Introducing Rubric Builder</strong></h4>



<p>Rubric Builder is a new tool that lets administrators customize the criteria used in M2’s feedback during activities and in teacher reports afterward. With it, schools can add their own scoring criteria to sit alongside M2’s built-in Engagement, Pacing, and Questioning rubrics.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Unlike traditional rubrics that live in documents or observation tools, these criteria shape what M2 looks for, responds to, and reports on during and after instruction every single day. This means the feedback teachers receive through M2 can now be fully aligned to district priorities, instructional frameworks, or coaching goals. Teachers get more meaningful insights, and administrators get consistency across classrooms.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="670" height="1024" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/m2-live-tips-670x1024.png" alt="Real-time classroom feedback displayed by M2 during instruction." class="wp-image-105620" style="width:auto;height:800px" srcset="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/m2-live-tips-670x1024.png 670w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/m2-live-tips-523x800.png 523w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/m2-live-tips-768x1175.png 768w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/m2-live-tips-1004x1536.png 1004w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/m2-live-tips.png 1054w" sizes="(max-width: 670px) 100vw, 670px" /></figure>
</div>


<p>Because initiatives shift and frameworks get updated, Rubric Builder supports the need for flexible instructional leadership. Admins can toggle custom criteria on or off at any time, and changes apply only to future activities, ensuring that all past feedback is preserved.</p>



<p>What does this all look like in practice? Here are three ways Rubric Builder can support your organization.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Align to teacher evaluation frameworks</strong></h4>



<p>Whether your district uses Danielson, Marzano, CLASS, or a local district models, M2 can now take on the same perspective as your organization&#8217;s coaches or administrators. After customizing your rubric, M2 will spot and comment on the detailed look-fors related to rigor, differentiation, classroom environment, or academic discourse that are part of your preferred approach to evaluating instruction.</p>



<p>For example, if your framework emphasizes academic language development, you can add a criterion like “Use of Academic Vocabulary.” When a teacher starts an activity, M2 scores and provides feedback using that criterion, and even appropriately mirrors the language used in your rubric.</p>



<p>Teachers get more frequent, more targeted insights, while administrators gain more consistent data. This moves the evaluation from a one-off event to a year-long support plan.&nbsp;</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img decoding="async" width="1024" height="601" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/m2-feedback-1024x601.png" alt="M2 dashboard showing rubric-based instructional feedback and scores." class="wp-image-105622" srcset="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/m2-feedback-1024x601.png 1024w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/m2-feedback-800x470.png 800w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/m2-feedback-768x451.png 768w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/m2-feedback.png 1312w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
</div>


<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Support instructional coaching programs</strong></h4>



<p>With large teacher rosters and staffing constraints, coaches can only visit a fraction of their teachers each month. Coaches can extend their impact when teachers use M2 weekly or even daily.</p>



<p>By bringing coaching criteria into Rubric Builder, districts can:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Reinforce the same language coaches use<br></li>



<li>Give teachers immediate feedback tied to the strategies they’re working on<br></li>



<li>Support new teachers or teachers in new roles with higher-frequency feedback</li>
</ul>



<p>Imagine a team focusing on improving questioning techniques. A coach can add a criterion like “Use of Higher-Order Questions” to the organization&#8217;s rubric. Each time a teacher uses M2, they receive a score and written feedback tied to that goal without waiting for the next coaching visit. This helps coaching criteria show up consistently in practice, not just during scheduled observations.</p>



<p>It’s a simple way to extend a coach’s impact across classrooms.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Advance district initiatives with consistent feedback</strong></h4>



<p>M2 is now your partner in championing district initiatives, ensuring that momentum stays high by massively increasing feedback teachers see on practical implementation of your organizations&#8217; areas of focus.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Because M2 provides feedback in real time, teachers receive many more touch points to reinforce the initiative each day instead of just on PD days.</p>



<p>Imagine rolling out an initiative knowing that teachers have not only heard about your organization&#8217;s new priority from leadership but will get daily reminders, feedback, and coaching about what that priority looks like in practice with every lesson they teach. That vision is now a reality.</p>



<p>This is especially valuable for new teachers or those adapting to new district priorities. M2 helps them know exactly what to look for and how to improve.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>A more aligned future for instructional feedback</strong></h4>



<p>When teachers receive feedback aligned to their team’s goals, growth accelerates. Coaching conversations become clearer and are grounded in shared context. Expectations stay consistent even when you don’t have the chance to meet. Important initiatives have a greater chance of taking root for the long term.</p>



<p>By embedding rubric criteria directly into live observation and post-class feedback, M2 helps existing frameworks influence daily teaching at a scale that was never possible until now.</p>



<p>Rubric Builder brings alignment between organizational priorities and the daily rhythm of teaching. It’s another step toward a future where every classroom gets the support it deserves, and every teacher has a clearer path forward.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/12/23/m2-rubric-builder/">Turning district priorities into consistent classroom feedback: M2’s Rubric Builder</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">105612</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>The missing piece in your MTSS framework: How M2 closes the gap between theory and practice</title>
		<link>https://www.swivl.com/2025/12/08/m2-mtss-teacher-support/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Amanda Regan]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Dec 2025 14:11:35 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[M2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Teacher Support]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[instructional coaching]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MTSS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Professional growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Teacher feedback]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.swivl.com/?p=105475</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>What is MTSS?&#160; Why do districts struggle with it? Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is designed to be elegant in theory: a three-tier pyramid where Tier 1 provides strong universal [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/12/08/m2-mtss-teacher-support/">The missing piece in your MTSS framework: How M2 closes the gap between theory and practice</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">What is MTSS?&nbsp; Why do districts struggle with it?</h4>



<p>Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is designed to be elegant in theory: a three-tier pyramid where Tier 1 provides strong universal instruction for all students, Tier 2 offers targeted interventions for students who need extra support, and Tier 3 delivers intensive, specialized services for those with the greatest needs.</p>



<p>But elegant theory doesn&#8217;t always translate to classroom reality.</p>



<p>Districts across the country have invested in MTSS frameworks. They&#8217;ve trained their staff, bought intervention materials, and hired interventionists. Yet many report the same frustration: inconsistent implementation across schools, staff stretched too thin to provide quality support, and data scattered across multiple systems—making it hard to know if the system is actually working.</p>



<p>The problem isn&#8217;t the framework itself. The problem is the <em>logistics</em> of making it work at scale.</p>



<p>Now, with M2, that&#8217;s changing.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The three barriers to MTSS success and the M2 solution</h4>



<p>Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is designed to be elegant in theory: a three-tier pyramid where Tier 1 provides strong universal instruction for all students, Tier 2 offers targeted interventions for students who need extra support, and Tier 3 delivers intensive, specialized services for those with the greatest needs.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Barrier 1: Fidelity – The consistency challenge</h4>



<p>You can&#8217;t improve what you can&#8217;t measure, and you can&#8217;t measure what isn&#8217;t consistent. A major implementation concern for many districts is the lack of uniformity in how MTSS is actually practiced.</p>



<p>What &#8220;Tier 1 instruction&#8221; looks like at Elementary School A might be completely different from Elementary School B. One teacher is checking for understanding every five minutes; another assumes all students are keeping up. One school has clear classroom routines; another is constantly managing behavior. This drift in practice means that students don&#8217;t experience consistent support—and your MTSS framework becomes more of an idea than a system.</p>



<p class="has-theme-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-15f230b7ebb1c293e51e8efd69339363"><strong>How M2 solves it:</strong></p>



<p>M2 standardizes the feedback loop by allowing you to upload your specific district frameworks—whether it&#8217;s Danielson, Marzano, or your own custom &#8220;Great Teaching&#8221; rubric—directly into the M2 Admin Dashboard. Now, every piece of feedback a teacher receives is aligned to <em>your</em> standards and <em>your</em> vision of excellent instruction.</p>



<p></p>



<p>When a teacher at School A and a teacher at School B both use M2, they&#8217;re not just getting generic coaching. They&#8217;re receiving feedback grounded in the same language, the same expectations, and the same district priorities. It&#8217;s not about robotically enforcing rules; it&#8217;s about creating a <strong>shared language of excellence</strong>. That consistency is the foundation of true MTSS fidelity.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Barrier 2: Capacity – The staffing and burnout crisis</h4>



<p>Most districts have robust MTSS plans on paper. But executing them? That requires people—coaches, interventionists, specialists, and leaders who can observe, analyze, and support every teacher in the system.</p>



<p>In reality, instructional coaches are stretched impossibly thin. A coach might be responsible for 20, 30, or even 50 teachers. That means classroom observations happen once or twice a semester. Teachers get feedback weeks after a lesson. Critical gaps in professional development go unaddressed. And staff burnout skyrockets because educators feel unsupported and isolated.</p>



<p>This capacity crisis creates a vicious cycle: without consistent feedback, teachers don&#8217;t improve. Without teacher improvement, students don&#8217;t thrive. And Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventionists find themselves overwhelmed because Tier 1 instruction wasn&#8217;t strong enough in the first place.</p>



<p class="has-theme-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b2f11c2ccdeaa3f5db941fc188743ead"><strong><strong>How M2 solves it:</strong></strong></p>



<p>M2 acts as a force multiplier. By giving every teacher a private, AI-powered co-teacher that delivers immediate, non-evaluative feedback, you&#8217;re effectively extending your coaching team&#8217;s reach exponentially.</p>



<p>Consider what happened at Newnan High School in Georgia. Their instructional coaches found that M2 transformed their work. One coach said, &#8220;It&#8217;s almost like it clones me. I&#8217;m able to be in more places at once.&#8221; Instead of spending hours on observation logistics and writing notes, coaches could focus their expertise where it was most needed—on Tier 2 and Tier 3 support, knowing that Tier 1 instruction was being strengthened daily for every teacher.</p>



<p>Teachers also reported that M2 felt less threatening than a formal observation. It was private, focused on growth rather than evaluation, and available 24/7. This creates a culture of continuous improvement instead of occasional judgment—exactly what sustainable MTSS requires.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Barrier 3: Data – Moving from guesswork to action</h4>



<p>MTSS is supposed to be data-driven. But for many districts, the data doesn&#8217;t actually drive anything.</p>



<p>Progress monitoring data is scattered across multiple platforms. Some metrics are subjective (notes from walkthroughs). Others arrive too late to matter (semester grades, end-of-year test scores). And collecting it all is incredibly labor-intensive, pulling teachers and coaches away from the work that actually moves the needle.</p>



<p>As a result, leaders make decisions based on incomplete information. They can&#8217;t pinpoint where professional development dollars should go. They miss the bright spots of excellence that should be celebrated and scaled. They can&#8217;t objectively measure whether their &#8220;checking for understanding&#8221; initiative is actually happening in classrooms—or if it&#8217;s slipping because teachers revert to old habits under stress.</p>



<p><strong><strong><strong>How M2 solves it:</strong></strong></strong></p>



<p>M2 provides objective, real-time data on what&#8217;s actually happening in classrooms. It captures engagement patterns, questioning depth, instructional pacing, and student talk time—without bias or subjectivity.</p>



<p>For district leaders, the dashboard offers a bird&#8217;s-eye view of these trends across all classrooms. You can see, objectively, whether the practices you&#8217;re prioritizing in professional development are taking root. You can track progress over time and identify which schools need more support. You can celebrate the teachers who are crushing it and learn from them.</p>



<p>This turns data monitoring from a compliance burden into a strategic asset. You know exactly where your resources should go. You have proof of what&#8217;s working. And you can adjust your MTSS approach in real time, not months later.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">From framework to reality</h4>



<p>Implementing MTSS with genuine fidelity is heavy lifting. It requires consistency, capacity, and clear data—three things that have historically been hard to achieve at scale.</p>



<p>But M2 changes what&#8217;s possible.</p>



<p>By ensuring every teacher receives feedback aligned to your district&#8217;s standards, by extending your coaching capacity without burning out your staff, and by providing objective data that informs every decision, M2 bridges the gap between the elegant MTSS framework on paper and the real, thriving support system that students and teachers actually experience.</p>



<p>That&#8217;s not just better MTSS. That&#8217;s MTSS that works.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/12/08/m2-mtss-teacher-support/">The missing piece in your MTSS framework: How M2 closes the gap between theory and practice</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">105475</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Empowering every learner: Using M2 for student support in an MTSS framework</title>
		<link>https://www.swivl.com/2025/12/05/m2-mtss-student-support/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Amanda Regan]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2025 20:45:41 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Classroom Inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[M2]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.swivl.com/?p=105454</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>When we talk about MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports), the conversation often revolves around what adults are doing—interventions, progress monitoring, and data collection. But the true measure of MTSS success [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/12/05/m2-mtss-student-support/">Empowering every learner: Using M2 for student support in an MTSS framework</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
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<p>When we talk about MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports), the conversation often revolves around what <em>adults</em> are doing—interventions, progress monitoring, and data collection. But the true measure of MTSS success is the experience of the <em>student</em>. Are they receiving the right support at the right time? Do they feel seen and understood?</p>



<p>M2 isn&#8217;t just a tool for teacher feedback; it&#8217;s a powerful, AI-driven co-teacher that works directly alongside students to support their learning journey across every tier. Here is how M2 aligns with your MTSS framework to empower learners.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Tier 1: Strengthening universal instruction with voice and agency</h4>



<p>At the universal level, the goal is high-quality core instruction that engages all students. M2 enhances Tier 1 by acting as an always-available resource that clarifies confusion and builds metacognition without requiring immediate teacher intervention.</p>



<p><strong>Building voice through reflection</strong></p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>The &#8220;confessional booth&#8221; for reflection:</strong> Susan, an AP Computer Science teacher, found that M2 gave a voice to her quietest students. She described it as a &#8220;confessional booth&#8221; where students could privately reflect on their learning. This builds student agency—a core component of strong Tier 1 instruction—by allowing every child to articulate their understanding in a low-stakes environment.</li>
</ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Instant clarification:</strong> We&#8217;ve all seen a lesson stall because a student missed a key instruction. With commands like &#8220;Hey M2, summarize that&#8221; or &#8220;Hey M2, what&#8217;s our objective?&#8221;, M2 keeps the entire class on track, reducing the cognitive load on the teacher and ensuring students don&#8217;t fall behind due to simple misunderstandings.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Whole Group Guides: Teaching the whole class better</strong></p>



<p>Whole Group Guides take Tier 1 to the next level by ensuring every student experiences research-backed instructional strategies consistently. While M2 guides the entire class through engaging activities, teachers are freed to circulate and provide the high-leverage feedback that moves students forward.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Research-backed strategies:</strong> Whole Group Guides use evidence-based approaches grounded in Marzano&#8217;s Nine Strategies, Hattie&#8217;s Visible Learning, and cognitive science research. Whether it&#8217;s retrieval practice to strengthen memory, dual coding to combine words and visuals, elaboration to deepen understanding, or interleaving to build flexible thinking—every activity is designed to enhance learning.</li>
</ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Teacher freedom to teach:</strong> When M2 leads a Whole Group Guide, teachers aren&#8217;t managing technology—they&#8217;re teaching. They circulate the room, offer formative feedback, facilitate peer conversations, and provide instructional cues. Students get more access to their teacher, not less.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Consistent excellence:</strong> Every student in your district experiences the same high-quality instructional strategies. No more variation between classrooms in what &#8220;good Tier 1 instruction&#8221; looks like. This consistency is the foundation of true universal support.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Tier 2: Targeted support for small groups and ELLs</h4>



<p>For students who need more targeted support, M2 acts as a force multiplier, allowing the teacher to &#8220;be in two places at once.&#8221;</p>



<p><strong>The virtual teaching assistant</strong></p>



<p>Kerri Bell shared how a student teacher used M2 specifically to support English Language Learners (ELLs). He placed M2 at a small group table and taught students to use the &#8220;Rephrase that&#8221; and &#8220;Translate that&#8221; functions. This provided immediate, personalized language support, allowing these students to access the curriculum independently while the teacher worked with another group.</p>



<p><strong>Small Group Guides: Differentiation without stretching your team</strong></p>



<p>Small Group Guides are the secret weapon for Tier 2 implementation. These flexible, student-paced activities allow teachers to deliver targeted instruction while M2 facilitates differentiated learning for specific groups.</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Flexible, zero-prep options:</strong> Teachers can pre-plan detailed Small Group Guides for predictable intervention needs (struggling readers, math fact fluency, language development) or launch zero-prep activities on the fly when a teachable moment arises. A small group needs extra practice with fractions? A cluster of ELL students needs targeted language support? A group of advanced learners needs an enrichment challenge? Teachers tell M2 their objective and launch an activity instantly.</li>
</ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Student-paced progress:</strong> Unlike whole-group activities, Small Group Guides let students progress at their own pace. Each student&#8217;s answers are captured and scored, giving teachers concrete data on what they&#8217;ve mastered and where they&#8217;re still struggling—critical information for Tier 2 decision-making.</li>
</ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Teacher flexibility:</strong> While M2 facilitates one small group, teachers work with other students. They might provide intensive one-on-one support to a struggling reader, monitor multiple learning stations, or coach a group through a complex project. Your limited Tier 2 interventionist time goes further because it&#8217;s strategically deployed where it&#8217;s most needed.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Facilitating group work</strong></p>



<p>Dr. Darcel Hogans discovered that her students loved collaborative work when &#8220;M2 is watching.&#8221; The presence of the device didn&#8217;t just monitor them; it engaged them. Students actively asked M2 questions during research—like science students who used M2 to dive deep into topics like the tongara frog. M2 becomes a station facilitator, guiding group inquiry and ensuring that &#8220;independent work&#8221; is truly productive.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Tier 3: Intensive, personalized scaffolding</h4>



<p>At the most intensive level, students often need significant scaffolding and immediate feedback. M2 provides a non-judgmental space for students to struggle, fail, and try again.</p>



<p><strong>Scaffolding complex thinking</strong></p>



<p>M2 doesn&#8217;t just give answers; it prompts thinking. When a first-grader in Megan Rozzana&#8217;s district was learning about stars, M2&#8217;s feedback helped her make a complex connection between the Big Dipper and navigation—a &#8220;lightbulb moment&#8221; that might have been missed in a busy classroom. For Tier 3 students, this immediate validation of their thinking is crucial for building confidence and persistence.</p>



<p><strong>Differentiation on-demand</strong></p>



<p>With Guides, M2 can create standards-aligned small-group or individual activities connected to the day&#8217;s lesson. Each Guide is centered around a research-backed instructional strategy from Marzano, Hattie, Lemov, and other instructional experts. Guides can provide extra support when intervention needs arise quickly, or free up teachers for one-on-one intensive support while other students work with M2.</p>



<p><strong>Assessing understanding automatically</strong></p>



<p>After the day&#8217;s lesson, M2 can help teachers understand where their Tier 3 students have knowledge gaps and where they&#8217;re making gains. M2 can generate Assessments, score them automatically, and provide feedback to both the teacher and the student. Because M2&#8217;s questions are adaptive and voice-based, responses are authentic windows into student understanding—not surface-level answers to traditional multiple choice questions.</p>



<p>This real-time insight helps teachers know: Is this student ready to step down to Tier 2? Do they need a different intervention strategy? Are they ready to return to Tier 1? These decisions are no longer based on gut feeling; they&#8217;re based on data.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The student-centered MTSS</h4>



<p>By integrating M2 into your MTSS framework, you aren&#8217;t just collecting data <em>on</em> students; you are providing support <em>for</em> them.</p>



<p>Whether it&#8217;s:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>A shy student finding their voice in a private reflection (Tier 1)</li>



<li>An ELL student getting instant translation and support in a small group (Tier 2)</li>



<li>A struggling learner getting immediate, non-judgmental scaffolding and feedback (Tier 3)</li>
</ul>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/12/05/m2-mtss-student-support/">Empowering every learner: Using M2 for student support in an MTSS framework</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">105454</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Whole Group Guides: A new way to move the whole class forward</title>
		<link>https://www.swivl.com/2025/12/02/whole-group-guides-a-new-way-to-move-the-whole-class-forward/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Gerard Dawson]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2025 17:23:44 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Classroom Inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[M2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[New Teacher Support]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Product updates]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.swivl.com/?p=105295</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>M2’s purpose has always been simple: to support great teachers in the work they do every day. Since then, we’ve seen the same pattern in classrooms across the country: teachers [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/12/02/whole-group-guides-a-new-way-to-move-the-whole-class-forward/">Whole Group Guides: A new way to move the whole class forward</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
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<p>M2’s purpose has always been simple: to support great teachers in the work they do every day. Since then, we’ve seen the same pattern in classrooms across the country: teachers are resourceful, dedicated, and creative. What they’re often missing is time. With so much to do, understanding which instructional moves are aligned with the research is something that can quickly fall by the wayside.</p>



<p>Administrators see it too. They know strong instruction depends on consistent structure and rigor. But most teachers don’t have a coach in the room to encourage the use of the most effective strategies. Many are teaching new subjects or grade levels with less training than they’d like. This is where the M2’s latest feature can help.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Introducing Whole Group Guides</h4>



<p>Whole Group Guides let teachers launch structured, interactive learning activities for the entire class without any student devices or setup time required.</p>



<p>With a few taps, and a chance to share the day’s objective, M2 gets to work. Whole Group Guides include clear verbal directions that lead students through a learning experience aligned with both the lesson of the day and sound pedagogy. As M2 shares directions out loud, the teacher stays in full control, advancing the activity with just a quick tap.&nbsp;</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Here’s how a Whole Group Guide might look in an elementary Math class:&nbsp;</h4>



<p>The teacher walks up to M2 and taps to request a Guide. She says, “I want my students to practice adding fractions with unlike denominators.” That’s the only prep required.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Seconds later, M2’s voice grabs student attention by introducing the activity. <em>Today, we’ll practice adding fractions by finding the least common denominator. You’ll need a pencil and paper. Let’s get started!</em>&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="1672" height="2560" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/m2-whole-group-guide-fractions-prompt-scaled.png" alt="" class="wp-image-105339" style="width:auto;height:700px" srcset="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/m2-whole-group-guide-fractions-prompt-scaled.png 1672w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/m2-whole-group-guide-fractions-prompt-523x800.png 523w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/m2-whole-group-guide-fractions-prompt-669x1024.png 669w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/m2-whole-group-guide-fractions-prompt-768x1176.png 768w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/m2-whole-group-guide-fractions-prompt-1003x1536.png 1003w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/m2-whole-group-guide-fractions-prompt-1338x2048.png 1338w" sizes="(max-width: 1672px) 100vw, 1672px" /></figure>



<p>From there, M2 guides students through a few questions and problems aligned with the objective. Today, M2 notices that students can benefit from <em>interleaving, </em>or mixing several problem types together to build flexible thinking.&nbsp;</p>



<p>After each step, students turn to a partner to discuss their thinking. The teacher is free to walk the room, checking in with students, coaching, answering questions, or pulling students aside who need some extra help.</p>



<p>When the Guide ends, the teacher smoothly transitions back to the front and decides to review one problem that sparked extra discussion.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">What makes Whole Group Guides different?</h4>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>No participant setup.</strong> Every student is included without extra steps.</li>



<li><strong>Teacher-controlled pace.</strong> M2 provides the directions, but teachers shape the timing.</li>



<li><strong>Designed for real classrooms.</strong> Activities include individual work, turn-and-talks, and whole-class moments to keep everyone engaged.</li>



<li><strong>More access to the teacher.</strong> With M2 managing the flow, teachers can spend more time giving feedback instead of handling logistics.</li>
</ul>



<p>For administrators seeking stronger instructional consistency across classrooms, Whole Group Guides model well-structured learning in real time. Teachers participate in the experience alongside their students, gaining a feel for the strategy as it unfolds.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Three forms of Whole Group Guides: Practice, projects, and something new</h4>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="1672" height="2560" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/m2-group-guide-setup-scaled.png" alt="M2 screen showing Group Guide setup with Whole Group selected and options for Instructional Strategy, Practice, and Project" class="wp-image-105335" style="width:auto;height:700px" srcset="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/m2-group-guide-setup-scaled.png 1672w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/m2-group-guide-setup-523x800.png 523w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/m2-group-guide-setup-669x1024.png 669w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/m2-group-guide-setup-768x1176.png 768w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/m2-group-guide-setup-1003x1536.png 1003w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/m2-group-guide-setup-1338x2048.png 1338w" sizes="(max-width: 1672px) 100vw, 1672px" /></figure>



<p class="has-theme-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-edbd9b17829c1b088200b285e4dbe818"><strong>Practice Guides</strong></p>



<p>Students work individually through repetitions of a skill, often pausing to check thinking with a partner or discuss as a class. Useful for reinforcing learning without relying on worksheets.</p>



<p class="has-theme-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-899e7cafb877b5f79c6a640693b590e9"><strong>Project Guides</strong></p>



<p>Collaborative activities where the entire class moves into small groups at once — helpful for hands-on work, labs, shared problem-solving, or building something together. And then there’s the newest option:</p>



<p class="has-theme-primary-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-17d1ff0a3935ae27e47b63ddf015136a"><strong>Instructional Strategies: research-backed teaching, available in the moment</strong></p>



<p>We heard the same theme from teachers and administrators again and again: they value strategies like Retrieval Practice or Elaboration, but during a lesson, it can be hard to launch them with clear steps and language. Instructional Strategies help with that challenge. When teachers select <strong>Instructional Strategy</strong>, M2 looks at the lesson objective and materials, then generates a Whole Group Guide built around a proven learning approach. These strategies draw from the work of researchers like Robert Marzano, John Hattie, and decades of cognitive science:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><strong>Retrieval Practice</strong> to strengthen memory<br></li>



<li><strong>Elaboration</strong> to deepen understanding<br></li>



<li><strong>Dual Coding</strong> to connect visuals and ideas<br></li>



<li><strong>Concrete → Abstract</strong> to build conceptual thinking<br></li>



<li><strong>Interleaving</strong> to support flexible problem solving</li>
</ul>



<p>M2 provides the structure and directions. The teacher brings the expertise, judgment, and support that only a person can provide. For administrators, this means teachers at all levels of experience can model strong instructional practices throughout a lesson. For teachers, it feels like having a prepared partner who can help launch a strategy right when the moment calls for it.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">A sustainable way to make every lesson great</h4>



<p>Whole Group Guides give teachers more freedom to focus on students. By removing setup, simplifying structure, and offering research-backed steps in real time, M2 helps teachers stay present with their students: circulating, giving feedback, listening in on conversations, pulling small groups, and offering the kinds of support no device can replace. It’s a vision of the classroom where great teaching becomes achievable across the school day because the scaffolding is already built into the experience.</p>



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<p><a href="http://swivl.com/m2"><strong>Talk with us</strong></a>: Let’s discuss how M2 can support your goals and explore options to demo, pilot, or purchase.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.swivl.com/events/"><strong>See it in action</strong></a>: Join one of our upcoming 15-minute webinars to experience M2 firsthand and hear stories from educators already co-teaching with it.</p>



<p><a href="community@swivl.com"><strong>Share your story</strong></a>: We want your voice in the conversation. What makes differentiation sustainable in your school? How are you moving beyond screen dependence? Share your insights with us at community@swivl.com.</p>



<div style="height:30px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/12/02/whole-group-guides-a-new-way-to-move-the-whole-class-forward/">Whole Group Guides: A new way to move the whole class forward</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">105295</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Achieve differentiation in special education with M2</title>
		<link>https://www.swivl.com/2025/11/21/m2-differentiation-special-ed/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Rachel Ashworth]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 Nov 2025 17:01:42 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Classroom Inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[High School]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[M2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[User Stories]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.swivl.com/?p=105241</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Everything, everywhere, all at once Danica Rose Garay teaches instructional sciences in a self-contained special education classroom, a complex setting to say the least. Throughout her day, she guides students [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/11/21/m2-differentiation-special-ed/">Achieve differentiation in special education with M2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="712" height="1131" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/M2-1.png" alt="M2 device - intelligent co-teacher" class="wp-image-98283" style="width:100px" srcset="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/M2-1.png 712w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/M2-1-504x800.png 504w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/M2-1-645x1024.png 645w" sizes="(max-width: 712px) 100vw, 712px" /></figure>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:80%">
<p class="has-larger-font-size">M2 provides a wealth of information <em>outside</em> of what you already know. It&#8217;s a form of differentiated instruction. Every day, I am learning how to be a better teacher because of M2.</p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color has-large-font-size wp-elements-93aeb6a023550c7e56667be048f2f754" style="color:#784279">Danica Rose Garay | Kankakee School District, IL</p>
</div>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-columns shift-in-reflection-post__table-row shift-in-reflection-post__table-row--border is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex">
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<p class="has-text-color has-link-color has-small-font-size wp-elements-ffb640960e17f1b074419783452abacf" style="color:#b7b7b7">USE CASE</p>



<p class="shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text--big has-large-font-size">Supporting differentiated instruction in special education</p>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:33.33%">
<p class="shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text has-small-font-size">Danica Rose Garay</p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color has-small-font-size wp-elements-7f3ecbf7b7d496afe6c461bae1464efe" style="color:#7a7a7a">Special Education Teacher</p>



<p class="shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text has-small-font-size">School/District:</p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color has-small-font-size wp-elements-87cbf69ab9427f9ce7c5f8010c2f07de" style="color:#7a7a7a">Kankakee School District, IL</p>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><span class="shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text">Grade Level</span> 9-12</p>
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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Everything, everywhere, all at once</h4>



<p>Danica Rose Garay teaches instructional sciences in a self-contained special education classroom, a complex setting to say the least. Throughout her day, she guides students from freshmen through seniors through biology, chemistry, physics and engineering, and environmental science.</p>



<p>Her students have diverse needs: some have autism, others have specific learning disabilities or intellectual disabilities. Many are English language learners navigating both a new language and complex scientific concepts simultaneously. Each student&#8217;s Individual Education Program (IEP) requires different accommodations, different pacing, different approaches.</p>



<p>Before M2, Danica managed these intersecting challenges largely on her own. When a Spanish-speaking student needed help understanding instructions, she would stop teaching, pull out her personal phone, type into Google Translate, hand the phone to the student, wait for his response, and pass the device back and forth. The back-and-forth ate up precious instructional time. Meanwhile, the rest of her class waited.</p>



<p>The pattern was apparent with conceptual questions too. A student would ask for more examples of chemical compounds, and Danica would cycle through the same familiar ones: water, carbon dioxide, maybe a couple others she could recall in the moment. With four different science subjects to teach across multiple grade levels, she couldn&#8217;t always hold every example at her fingertips.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Curiosity is a catalyst for learning</h4>



<p>The real cost was not just loss of time but loss of opportunity for her students to go deeper with their learning. Danica shared a simple, but fundamental philosophy about how she analyzes student learning in her classes:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e00a149bef09782939efb7602566c9c4" style="color:#8a43fb"><blockquote><p><em>“Questioning is one of the best pieces of evidence that a student is learning.”</em></p></blockquote></figure>



<p>When students are curious enough to ask, that&#8217;s when real understanding begins.</p>



<p>But curiosity can be fleeting if the flame gets extinguished. When a student asks a question tied to what they&#8217;re learning right now, and the teacher has to say &#8220;I&#8217;ll get back to you tomorrow,&#8221; oftentimes by the next day, the student has often forgotten what they wanted to know. The spark is gone.</p>



<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s disheartening when I don’t have time to answer all of their questions,&#8221; Danica explains. In a class where students already face extra barriers to engagement, losing those moments felt like losing the students themselves.</p>



<p>The promise of equitable education for students with disabilities is that they&#8217;ll receive the support they need to access learning alongside their peers. But when one teacher is responsible for an entire classroom of individualized needs, that promise gets stretched thin—not because of lack of care or effort, but because of the limits of time and human capacity.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">So long Google Translate</h4>



<p>When M2 arrived in Danica&#8217;s classroom, it addressed both challenges at once: the language barrier and the knowledge gaps.</p>



<p>During a lesson on elements and compounds, Danica explained the instructions to her class. Then she turned to M2: &#8220;Can you please translate that into Spanish?&#8221; Instantly, M2 repeated her instructions in Spanish–no phone to fumble with, no broken flow, no student left waiting while others moved ahead.</p>



<p>Her Spanish-speaking students could hear the translation in real time, ask his own questions to M2, and stay engaged with the lesson without falling behind. Danica recalls:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-fc3fa6eb9bfe6d6453272076bd1b3da6" style="color:#8a43fb"><blockquote><p><em>&nbsp;&#8220;It made all the difference for him to be able to keep up with the rest of the class. And it was so natural that it didn&#8217;t disrupt my flow either.”</em></p></blockquote></figure>



<p>And when students asked for even more examples of chemical compounds, M2 provided them: methane, sulphuric acid, and so on, beyond Danica&#8217;s immediate recall. M2 could also repeat and review content while students worked independently, reinforcing concepts without requiring Danica to pause her one-on-one support with other students.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Curiosity for the curator too</h4>



<p>Another benefit for Danica was M2’s real-time coaching feedback. After her first period class, Danica read M2&#8217;s suggestion: she could increase engagement and elevate her questioning skills by asking students to provide more examples rather than providing most of the examples herself.</p>



<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t believe I forgot about this fundamental technique,&#8221; she realized. She had been so focused on optimizing her pacing and delivering content efficiently, she had missed opportunities for students to demonstrate their own understanding, too.</p>



<p>In her second and third period classes that same day, Danica incorporated the feedback. Instead of listing examples herself, she asked students to generate their own. The difference was immediate:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ed108af58ab604625d07612e4ea10aea" style="color:#8a43fb"><blockquote><p><em>&#8220;It instantly turned into an active discussion, with energetic questioning happening all around my room.&#8221;</em></p></blockquote></figure>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Letting teachers be teachers</h4>



<p>Looking ahead, Danica sees M2 as part of a larger shift in how teachers can support diverse learners. &#8220;This is a great innovation for us. It takes loads off of teachers’ plates: constantly needing to prioritize, process, and execute based on individual learning plans.</p>



<p>But she&#8217;s also thoughtful about the boundaries. &#8220;We should strive to find our balance with AI. Teachers don’t always know where to draw the line.&#8221; She sees M2 for what it is: a partner that isn&#8217;t meant to replace her or take over her instruction entirely. It&#8217;s supplemental and an extension of what she is already trained to do, providing the extra voice, extra language, and extra set of examples when students need them.</p>



<p>&#8220;Some teachers &#8211; including myself, sometimes &#8211; are really scared to find out what we don&#8217;t know,&#8221; Danica acknowledges.&nbsp;</p>



<p>&#8220;It boils down to this: M2 can provide a wealth of information <em>outside</em> of what you already know. It&#8217;s just a form of differentiated instruction. Every day, I am learning how to be a better teacher because of M2.&#8221;</p>



<p>For Danica, the vision is clear: use M2 to ensure that no student is left at surface-level understanding simply because she could not address it in that very moment. Keep the questions alive. Keep the curiosity alive. Keep the evidence of learning alive.</p>



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<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/11/21/m2-differentiation-special-ed/">Achieve differentiation in special education with M2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">105241</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>CTE gets a glow up, courtesy of M2</title>
		<link>https://www.swivl.com/2025/11/13/cte-m2/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Rachel Ashworth]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Nov 2025 14:07:36 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Classroom Inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[High School]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[M2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[User Stories]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.swivl.com/?p=105000</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>“Accounting isn’t fun.” Travis Paulsen teaches business and accounting classes to 9th through 12th graders at Owatanna Senior High School, and he&#8217;ll be the first to tell you that making [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/11/13/cte-m2/">CTE gets a glow up, courtesy of M2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="712" height="1131" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/M2-1.png" alt="M2 device - intelligent co-teacher" class="wp-image-98283" style="width:100px" srcset="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/M2-1.png 712w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/M2-1-504x800.png 504w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/M2-1-645x1024.png 645w" sizes="(max-width: 712px) 100vw, 712px" /></figure>
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<div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:80%">
<p class="has-text-color has-link-color has-larger-font-size wp-elements-bb7b9f52997099a874f204b15e37b0ae" style="color:#ffffff">After explaining the differences between assets and liabilities for the umpteenth time, I asked M2 and BOOM. It gave us relevant and interesting examples I had never thought of before.</p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color has-large-font-size wp-elements-135ba46a9ef4de3aa2896ba71941f9fc" style="color:#d2b5ff">Travis Paulsen | Owatanna Senior High School, MN</p>
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<p class="has-text-color has-link-color has-small-font-size wp-elements-ffb640960e17f1b074419783452abacf" style="color:#b7b7b7">USE CASE</p>



<p class="shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text--big has-large-font-size">Turning “busy work” into deep learning</p>
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<div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:33.33%">
<p class="shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text has-small-font-size">Travis Paulsen</p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color has-small-font-size wp-elements-5bf12f5823f5a47965f399dc40a0c1fe" style="color:#7a7a7a">CTE Teacher</p>



<p class="shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text has-small-font-size">School/District:</p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color has-small-font-size wp-elements-6f6a8f7183491f0ebac0c3da03269725" style="color:#7a7a7a">Owatanna Senior High School, MN</p>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><span class="shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text">Grade Level</span> 9-12</p>
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<h4 class="wp-block-heading shift-in-reflection-post__h2-title">“Accounting isn’t fun.”</h4>



<p>Travis Paulsen teaches business and accounting classes to 9th through 12th graders at Owatanna Senior High School, and he&#8217;ll be the first to tell you that making accounting seem interesting is no small feat. Like many Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers, he faces a unique challenge: “Accounting isn’t fun,” jokes Travis.</p>



<p>He knows accounting concepts—debits, credits, financial statements—don&#8217;t naturally generate excitement for teenagers. And business classes aren’t the only options competing for student enrollment. &#8220;We&#8217;re constantly competing with band, choir, arts, and other electives,&#8221; he notes. Those programs offer built-in opportunities for students to showcase their hard work and skills: concerts, performances, and other forms of creative expression. Completing an accounting course, by comparison, doesn’t get you bouquets or award ceremonies at the end of the year.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading shift-in-reflection-post__h2-title">The double-entry dilemma</h4>



<p>Accounting is also challenging. &#8220;The hardest thing for students to grasp is that in every transaction, two different parts of an equation are affected,&#8221; Travis explains.</p>



<p>Travis is describing double-entry accounting: the principle that every financial transaction affects at least two accounts. It’s fundamental to the discipline. It&#8217;s also abstract and difficult to visualize for students encountering it for the first time.</p>



<p>&#8220;We’re constantly trying to think of different examples to explain this concept,&#8221; Travis says. But coming up with fresh, relevant scenarios on the fly, multiple times per day, across multiple class sections? That&#8217;s a tall order even for a seasoned veteran like Travis.&nbsp;</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading shift-in-reflection-post__h2-title">M2 balances the books</h4>



<p>M2 made quick work of the double-entry dilemma. Travis recalled:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-14d46521d0356c340a978b50304688b7" style="color:#8a43fb"><blockquote><p><em>“After explaining the differences between assets and liabilities for the umpteenth time, I asked M2 and BOOM. It gave us relevant and interesting examples I had never thought of before.”</em></p></blockquote></figure>



<p>Another breakthrough came when Travis reimagined how his end-of-chapter questions&nbsp; (something he calls &#8220;busy work&#8221;) could become meaningful learning opportunities when delivered by M2.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The incentive is simple but powerful: if a student successfully argues their logic out loud with M2 then they don’t have to complete the end-of-chapter written assignment. It’s a win-win for everyone.</p>



<p>M2 also freshened up the feedback cycle in his classes.</p>



<p>He admits: <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/07/08/educators-everywhere-lets-get-brave-get-real-and-grow-through-feedback/">his feedback</a> to students was starting to feel perfunctory every time he graded those end-of-chapter worksheets.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-89a3f118b73f466523337c9f9048f428" style="color:#8a43fb"><blockquote><p><em>“I was running out of ways to say ‘Yep, you did great! Awesome job!”</em></p></blockquote></figure>



<p>He knew students deserved something more genuine, but the reality of teaching multiple classes with virtually no prep time was making that level of individualized attention impossible.</p>



<p>Now, students receive in-depth, personalized feedback through their conversations with M2 and it’s not all sunshine and daisies. M2 keeps rigor high, asking follow-up questions with every piece of encouragement, e.g., &#8220;<em>Have you thought about it this way instead?</em>&#8221; “<em>What might change your mind about this topic</em>?” M2 challenges students to work through their misconceptions and provides scaffolding that deepens their understanding.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading shift-in-reflection-post__h2-title">This tech just hits different</h4>



<p>It was clear that M2 was making accounting the most popular CTE class offered in his program and Travis has a theory as to why. He jokes:<br></p>



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8887d15a7fd463e7a703be2da933c473" style="color:#8a43fb"><blockquote><p><em>&#8220;Yes, there is a shiny, new tech factor, but let’s face it. It&#8217;s not an endless conversation with some ‘boring old teacher guy’&#8221;</em></p></blockquote></figure>



<p>It may sound self-deprecating at first, but there’s awareness and honesty here. When we chatted with Travis he shared some light-hearted examples of back-and-forth banter he has with his students every day. Their rapport is strong. But this technology just offers a different kind of <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/04/09/5-reasons-teachers-love-m2/">engagement</a>.</p>



<p>M2 provides novelty, patience, and a judgment-free space for students to work through complex concepts. Students can ask questions they might hesitate to raise in front of peers. They can take their time without worrying about holding up the class.</p>



<p>And Travis is strategic about deployment. &#8220;We don&#8217;t use M2 for <em>everything</em>,&#8221; he emphasizes. During regular instruction, &#8220;we&#8217;re still analyzing transactions and still having real discussions in class.&#8221; But M2 is there to make the grind of drilling tough concepts more relatable and easier to digest for learners.</p>



<p>The approach maximizes M2&#8217;s impact while maintaining Travis&#8217;s essential role as teacher and mentor.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading shift-in-reflection-post__h2-title">Making CTE relatable for all</h4>



<p>Ever since Travis brought M2 into his class, he’s witnessed a remarkable shift in his own teaching practice and his students’ attitudes toward learning, so his advice for fellow CTE teachers on where to start? Use M2 to provide real-world, relatable examples for challenging concepts. Whether it&#8217;s assets and liabilities in accounting, legal precedents in business law, or case studies in management, M2 can generate contextual examples instantly.</p>



<p>The result? &#8220;An instant launch pad for deeper discussions in your classes,&#8221; proclaims Travis. &#8220;This will put you on the map,&#8221; Travis says, speaking to the competitive reality of elective programs, &#8220;and students will want to sign up for your classes.&#8221;&nbsp;</p>



<p>But beyond marketing advantages, M2 addresses a fundamental challenge in CTE education: how to make technical content accessible, genuine, and relevant for students who are still discovering their future selves.&nbsp;</p>



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<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/11/13/cte-m2/">CTE gets a glow up, courtesy of M2</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">105000</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>How M2 freed coaches to scale instructional excellence</title>
		<link>https://www.swivl.com/2025/11/06/m2-freed-coaches-to-scale/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Rachel Ashworth]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 Nov 2025 18:41:35 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Elementary School]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[M2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Middle School]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[User Stories]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.swivl.com/?p=104829</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Dr. Pallavi Aggarwal was partnered with The Biome School in 2023 as part of a University of Missouri-St. Louis postdoctoral fellows program where she was introduced to the then–instructional coach–now [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/11/06/m2-freed-coaches-to-scale/">How M2 freed coaches to scale instructional excellence</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="712" height="1131" src="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/M2-1.png" alt="M2 device - intelligent co-teacher" class="wp-image-98283" style="width:100px" srcset="https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/M2-1.png 712w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/M2-1-504x800.png 504w, https://www.swivl.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/M2-1-645x1024.png 645w" sizes="(max-width: 712px) 100vw, 712px" /></figure>
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<div class="wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:80%">
<p class="has-text-color has-link-color has-larger-font-size wp-elements-2e19b0d2a7b72ab8a173fd65e4ac478e" style="color:#ffffff">From M2’s feedback, our teachers select two instructional goals for their next observation and then the cycle repeats. It’s so streamlined!</p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color has-large-font-size wp-elements-772a0b0f58291002cd9c209e09cd076f" style="color:#c49fff">Dr. Pallavi Aggarwal | University of Missouri, St. Louis</p>
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<p class="has-text-color has-link-color has-small-font-size wp-elements-ffb640960e17f1b074419783452abacf" style="color:#b7b7b7">USE CASE</p>



<p class="shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text--big has-large-font-size">AI-powered coaching</p>
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<div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:33.33%">
<p class="shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text has-small-font-size">Dr. Pallavi Aggarwal / Laura Myers</p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color has-small-font-size wp-elements-3f3c38371b2a61e6ef6bc7fdbe439c52" style="color:#7a7a7a">Post-Doctoral Research Fellow / Principal</p>



<p class="shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text has-small-font-size">School/District:</p>



<p class="has-text-color has-link-color has-small-font-size wp-elements-0976a093c97c8cec9a80eda3c9ed1841" style="color:#7a7a7a">University of Missouri, St. Louis / Biome Charter School</p>



<p class="has-small-font-size"><span class="shift-in-reflection-post__table-black-text">Grade Level:</span> Elementary School</p>
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<p>Dr. Pallavi Aggarwal was partnered with The Biome School in 2023 as part of a University of Missouri-St. Louis <a href="https://www.umsl.edu/education/research-centers/postdoctoral-fellowships/postdoctoral-fellows.html">postdoctoral fellows program</a> where she was introduced to the then–instructional coach–now Principal, Laura Myers. From their earliest observations, they realized that many teachers were struggling with basic Tier 1 instruction. Laura knew it wasn’t apathy that the teachers were experiencing; there were simply no systems in place to drive the kind of standardization around excellence they knew every teacher was capable of.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As Laura recalls it, “The teachers who were well-prepared and had sharpened their lesson plans: they sparkled. It was the teachers who did <em>not</em> prepare, who would just fly by the seat of their pants &#8211; that’s where we noticed behavioral problems, teaching performance issues, and a correlation in lower scores out of those students.”</p>



<p>Pallavi also remembers those days. According to her, “Teachers weren&#8217;t required to review their teaching manuals, there were no PLCs for collaborative planning, and there was not a consistent instructional coaching model to guide growth.”&nbsp;</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">99 observations, 44 videos, and one unsustainable path</h4>



<p>Determined to shift the school’s trajectory, Pallavi and Laura threw themselves into data collection. In their first semester, they conducted 99 observations, meticulously documenting which instructional practices correlated with higher levels of student engagement. They presented their findings to leadership, making the first real case for systemic change.</p>



<p>In the second semester, they introduced GoReact’s video review platform to help teachers reflect on their practice and give leadership visibility into classroom instruction. But this tool came with baggage. After manually viewing and meticulously annotating video observations, Laura and Pallavi were craving some efficiency.&nbsp;Pallavi put it plainly,</p>



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ee82972c5fed3860c5bb25eb8dfdeb70" style="color:#8a43fb"><blockquote><p><em>“We recorded 44 videos and annotated every minute. It was a lot of work.”</em></p></blockquote></figure>



<p>In the same year, they piloted Swivl robots, which leveraged multiple microphones to capture classroom audio and provided speech analysis. The data was eye-opening: in most classrooms, teachers talked 98% of the time while students had opportunities to engage only 2% of the time. It was another data point confirming what they already knew &#8211; instruction needed to evolve.</p>



<p>The work paid off initially. By the end of that first year, they had developed three critical tools: a lesson template outlining how instruction should flow, two rubrics to assess instructional practices and student engagement, and a shared understanding that teacher capacity-building needed to be the school&#8217;s priority.&nbsp;</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Time to scale…and soar</h4>



<p>Armed with their custom rubrics and building a culture of trust and partnership, Pallavi and Laura entered their second year ready to implement a more formal coaching model. But even with plans in place, the thought of manually observing, recording, annotating, analyzing, and providing personalized feedback to every single teacher each week loomed over them again like a dark cloud. They&#8217;d need to clone themselves just to maintain what they&#8217;d started.</p>



<p>That’s when Pallavi heard about M2 in a meeting with other mentors in her post-doctoral program at UMSL.</p>



<p>She was excited by the possibilities immediately: “M2 was a perfect fit in our trajectory because we were already conducting observations regularly, and fortunately, our teachers were amenable to trying new things.” And M2 reinforced a very crucial principle for the teachers at Biome Charter:&nbsp;</p>



<p>M2 observations are never meant to be punitive. They are designed to support growth. So the teachers approached M2 with curiosity, rather than resistance.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Using AI to bring out the humanness in their coaching</h4>



<p>What immediately appealed to Pallavi and Laura was that M2 didn’t compete with their roles as coaches and mentors for their teachers. If anything, it became their trusted sidekick for every observation and helped them establish a baseline of feedback for teachers in minutes, not hours.</p>



<p>Here&#8217;s how their hybrid model works: M2 is set up in a classroom at the beginning of each lesson, collecting real-time data on the teachers’ skills: engagement, questioning strategies, and pacing. M2 is guided by the custom rubrics Pallavi developed to assess instructional practices so it knows what to look for and how to support each teacher during their class. After each lesson, M2 provides automatic scores, summaries, and actionable tips for improvement, while a human observer (usually Pallavi) adds context from their perspective of the class.</p>



<p>Teachers then review both sets of feedback and select their own instructional goals. &#8220;It&#8217;s not just us providing feedback. Teachers are also taking ownership when they view M2’s recommendations,&#8221; Pallavi explains. &#8220;From M2’s feedback, our teachers select two instructional goals for their next observation and then the cycle repeats. It’s so streamlined!&#8221;</p>



<p>The two leaders shared an anecdote that literally had them high-fiving as we spoke about it. One of their teachers, Dr. Washington, has become a model for how powerful this approach can be. Pallavi shared, &#8220;She&#8217;s actually using the tool in the best capacity possible. She carefully and thoughtfully reads through all of M2’s feedback and it helps her see the bigger picture.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>Successful experiences like Dr. Washington’s are what make Pallavi and Laura’s partnership so strong and in sync: when they see a teacher take ownership of their own growth and development, it makes coaching and supporting that teacher even more rewarding.</p>



<p>Other teachers are becoming more vocal about their observation protocol too.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b029eb660e8b163853bb0b8d3576705d" style="color:#8a43fb"><blockquote><p><em>“They want to see their scores on engagement, questioning, and wonder when I bringing M2 back to their class.”</em></p><cite>Dr. Pallavi Aggarwal</cite></blockquote></figure>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The next frontier: co-teaching with M2</h4>



<p>Pallavi and Laura&#8217;s vision for M2 extends beyond observation and feedback. In Spring 2026, they plan to utilize <a href="https://swivl.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/40286348476827--Group-Guide-Set-Up-on-M2">M2&#8217;s Group Guide</a>. With this feature, students can interact directly with M2 to ask questions, engage in small group discussions and receive feedback, and practice their skills, all while M2 provides instructional support and narrated directions.</p>



<p>They&#8217;re also exploring using M2’s customized assignment feature, which lets students verbally share their learning based on prompts that M2 designed from the lesson. &#8220;It will be really interesting to assess students&#8217; depth of knowledge,&#8221; Pallavi muses, thinking about the various ways M2’s software [<a href="http://mirrortalk.ai">MirrorTalk.ai</a>] will be able to <a href="https://swivl.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/21253630061467--M2-and-MirrorTalk-Group-Dashboard-Info-and-Activity-Card-Decoding-including-scores">analyze student reflections</a>.</p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading">What M2 was designed for</h4>



<p>When asked what guidance they&#8217;d give to other schools, researchers, or coaches considering M2, both Pallavi and Laura immediately emphasized the importance of relationships, which is also <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/09/12/human-side-professional-development-edtech/">fundamental to the M2 experience</a>.&nbsp;<br></p>



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-187210ffd874774fd3f363ba36dd5873" style="color:#8a43fb"><blockquote><p><em>“The most important thing is to invest time in building relationships with each and every teacher, reminding them that M2 is not evaluative; it’s for the betterment of their teaching and students’ learning.&#8221;</em></p><cite>Laura Myers</cite></blockquote></figure>



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<p>The cultural groundwork matters. Trust matters. And when those foundations are solid, technology like M2 can transform what&#8217;s possible–not by replacing teachers or coaches, but by giving them the time, data, and support to do their most important work: helping every teacher grow.</p>



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<p><br></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.swivl.com/2025/11/06/m2-freed-coaches-to-scale/">How M2 freed coaches to scale instructional excellence</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.swivl.com">Swivl</a>.</p>
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