Mirror brings small group and SEL support to rural classrooms

In rural Wyoming, Ashlyn Sutton is redefining education at Meeteetse School. Unlike their urban counterparts, rural schools like Meeteetse often struggle with limited resources, smaller staff, and the need for teachers to wear multiple hats. As a first-year math and science teacher for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders, Ashlyn faces unique challenges. She juggles multiple curriculums and age groups and teaches in small, isolated community. She was also grapplying with engaging her students in meaningful reflection and communication. Before Mirror, finding efficient ways to meet all students’ needs was a constant struggle.

Taking rural students further with SEL

Mirror’s arrival motivated Ashlyn to embrace her challenges. She set a vision for her classroom that goes beyond traditional academic instruction. Ashlyn explains, “I tell my students it’s not just about knowing how to multiple, divide, and read passages, you also have to communicate, respect others, and work as a team. My goal is to teach them responsibility and soft skills they will need in life.” Her holistic approach is crucial in a rural setting, where students may have limited exposure to diverse perspectives before entering the real world.

Mirror’s efficiency in guiding student reflections has been a game-changer in Ashlyn’s multi-grade class. “It’s been so easy for students to verbalize to Mirror what they have actually learned and communicate how they feel about it,” she notes. And students love talking to Mirror, which has transformed Ashlyn’s ability to foster deeper connections with them. “My goal has always been to get my kids comfortable enough to tell me, ‘Hey, I’m feeling this way because something happened at home, or I’m feeling this way, because of something in the lesson.’” When Ashlyn spoke with us she admitted, “students feel more comfortable talking to Mirror than they do to me,” but these higher quality responses combined with Mirror’s ability to rapidly analyze the students’ reflections have allowed her to gain deeper insights into their understanding, motivation, and mindset.

Even small class sizes need small group support

For new teachers – especially those supporting as many subjects and grades Ashlyn does – small group lesson planning can be an impossible task. The process is incredibly time-consuming for Ashlyn, and requires to prepare extensive, differentiated resources to cater to each of her student groups effectively and appropriately. Moreover, managing multiple small groups often led to classroom chaos, with some students disengaging or going off-task while Ashlyn’s attention was divided.

With Mirror, Ashlyn can create Workspaces for each subject and grade level in just two minutes. These step-by-step activity workflows allow Ashlyn to place Mirror at different stations in her classroom to guide small group instruction. When students are finished with an activity, they reflect on their experience together, guided by prompts Mirror automatically creates when the activity is set up. This not only saves valuable time and enhances classroom management, but increases Ashlyn’s autonomy to provide more targeted support to students who need it most.

From the automatic reflection prompts to facilitation of small group instruction, Ashlyn is leveraging Mirror’s myriad capabilities to navigate her first year of teaching in a rural environment with confidence. For Meeteetse’s students, Ashlyn and Mirror are nurturing them into well-rounded individuals who can thrive in any environment.

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