Origins

The Keep in School Shape (KiSS) Program began in 2016 as a small exploratory project to determine whether students would voluntarily review mathematics during academic breaks. Students preparing for an upcoming course received one short daily problem delivered by text message.

The response was immediate and enthusiastic. Many students not only participated but requested additional problems. What began as a simple experiment evolved into a scalable program designed to help students maintain foundational skills and confidence between sequenced courses.

The Logo

The Keep in School Shape (KiSS ) logo underscores the connection between physical and cognitive fitness, emphasizing the key to student success—consistent practice. Just as regular exercise keeps the body strong, steady engagement in learning keeps the mind sharp. The KiSS Program logo serves as a reminder that small, daily efforts lead to long-term academic growth and achievement.

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How KiSS Works

Each KiSS activity is delivered through a brief online survey that guides students through a short sequence of problems. Survey logic allows the activity to adapt to student choices, providing tailored hints, confidence checks, feedback messages, and optional follow-up problems.

Students receive a daily message containing a link to the activity and can choose whether to participate via email or text message. The activities are intentionally short so that students can complete them in just a few minutes while maintaining consistent engagement during academic breaks.

Student Experience

The KiSS Program is designed to feel simple, approachable, and low-pressure. Activities are brief and structured to allow students to make choices about how deeply they engage. Students can attempt problems, view hints, or move between problem levels depending on their confidence.

Although the activities are delivered through online survey software, the experience feels similar to using a lightweight learning app. The goal is to make participation convenient enough that students can maintain small, consistent learning habits during breaks.

Recognizing Learning Behaviors

Just as physical fitness involves more than one kind of exercise, keeping your brain in shape involves more than getting the right answers. It takes challenging yourself, learning from mistakes, and choosing to keep practicing.

KiSS uses digital badges to recognize different ways students engage in their daily brain workouts. Inspired by the language of physical fitness, the badges celebrate behaviors that support learning—not simply how many problems students get right.

Initiative — Taking on a challenge by starting with a more difficult problem.
Exertion — Pushing yourself further by moving up to a more challenging level.
Focus — Demonstrating accuracy by getting a problem right on the first attempt.
Drive — Learning from mistakes by using feedback and trying again.
Endurance — Building staying power by tackling a similar problem.
Commitment — Going beyond the basics by choosing additional practice.
Community — Participating in shared activities, such as trivia

Stamina — Completing a full range of activities during a daily brain workout.

An Evolving Badge System

The KiSS badge system continues to evolve in response to students' experiences, feedback, and participation patterns. One planned addition is Flexibility, inspired by Wacky Wednesdays, when playful icons replace familiar mathematical symbols. The new badge will recognize those who choose to tackle more than one wacky problem during their daily brain workout.

Badge names, designs, and criteria may vary across implementations, but the underlying goal remains the same: recognizing the many ways students take an active role in keeping their mathematical skills in shape.

Learning Science Foundations

The KiSS Program is grounded in established research on learning and memory. Its design integrates principles from retrieval practice, spaced engagement, and metacognitive reflection, which together support the productive maintenance of prior knowledge by strengthening retention while encouraging students to monitor their understanding and confidence. Participation in the program is voluntary and supported through brief, well-timed digital nudges that invite students to engage with a short daily activity during academic breaks.

KiSS represents one implementation of the AppLe framework (Apply + Learn) — a continuity-oriented design model developed to support sustained readiness between instructional periods.

Learn More

Visit the Frequently Asked Questions page for quick answers to common questions about the philosophy, structure, research, and practical implementation of KiSS. Whether you're curious about the learning science behind it or how to adapt it for your own students, you'll find helpful insights and links to supporting resources.