School officials call for math program review
School Board to consider the recommendation on Monday.
By ROSEMARY SHINOHARA
Anchorage Daily News
By ROSEMARY SHINOHARA Anchorage Daily News
Published: September 30th, 2011 08:11 AM
Last Modified: September 30th, 2011 08:12 AM
Anchorage school administrators are recommending a months-long, in-depth review of the district's kindergarten-through-eighth-grade math curriculum amid continuing agitation over the Everyday Mathematics program.
g-running debate over Everyday Math, the program used in most Anchorage elementary schools, was reignited this summer when the district received a consultant's report on how to improve student math skills.
The report didn't fault Everyday Math, published by McGraw-Hill, but said the district hadn't implemented its elementary math programs well.
Superintendent Carol Comeau said initially she was OK with waiting until next spring to make a decision about whether to stick with the current program or check out others.
But she said it's become clear that controversy about Everyday Math is on many peoples' minds, both parents and teachers.
Parents often approach her and either say they don't like Everyday Math or they love it, Comeau said. Teachers are split over it, too.
"There's just continuous questions about it," Comeau said. "We just think it's time to bring it forward and let people know right up front" it's going to be reviewed.
The School Board is scheduled to consider the recommendation at its Monday meeting.
"I think it's a positive move," said School Board president Gretchen Guess. The administration has laid out a thoughtful timeline for the review, she said, with community hearings to identify issues upfront -- November to February -- and the nuts-and-bolts work scheduled after that.
A full-on curriculum review means creating committees that include educators and community members to do the review, soliciting material from publishers, choosing finalists, presenting the final choices for public discussion, and making a decision.
The committee work will begin when the state adopts new state math standards next spring, Comeau said, because the local curriculum has to reflect what's on state standards and tests.
New, more rigorous national standards are already in place, she said, and textbook publishers are producing new materials that reflect them.
Guess said given the public feedback on Everyday Math so far, she'd be surprised if the program ends up being the district's choice.
Whatever the decision is, the new curriculum would be offered beginning in the fall of 2013.
The cost isn't known, said Comeau, but between buying materials and training teachers, it's bound to be more than $1 million.
The district last year asked consultants from the Council of the Great City Schools to figure out why elementary math test results in Anchorage couldn't seem to rise above the national average.
The council report in June got people talking about Everyday Math. The report said the district needed to ramp up teacher training on how to teach math, and do a better job of communicating with parents -- many of whom say Everyday Math is confusing.
Everyday Math emphasizes the concepts behind math, and different ways of solving problems. Some parents don't think it focuses enough on computation skills like multiplication and division, Comeau said.
"Successful engineers say, 'I don't like the way they present it. It's so different,' " she said.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Spotted: You give new math a failing grade
The answer is simple: old math is greater than new math, according to the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
The study, titled Math Instruction that Makes Sense, "demonstrates conclusively that traditional math education methods are superior to the highly ineffective, discovery-based instructional techniques that are in vogue now in educational curricula," said a news release from the public policy think tank.
The story generated a lot of thoughtful remarks from CBC audience members, many of whom shared their experiences as educators and parents, struggling to see the benefits of new math.
A few people couldn't resist commenting on the study itself.
•"Teachers have been saying this for years. But, nobody listens till some so-called expert does a study," wrote LarryM.
•"Wasn't it 'experts' that came up with the 'new math'?," joked D Bertrand.
However, most members in the CBC Community were anxious to get down to discussing the failings of new math.
•"If the new math is so great then why am I having to sit down with my gr. 9, honour roll student every night to google formulas and how-to's to find out how to do her homework? Not only do I have to explain it to her, but I have to learn the new math so I don't get her totally confused." said xtrabusymom.
•"This was obvious ten years ago. My older brother and I were taught 'old math' and my younger siblings 'new math'. They used calculators in elementary school... we weren't allowed to use them until we started doing trigonometry! They would speak of 'groups' and 'sets' and have to do math with pictures... we did ours with numbers," remarked starrydays17.
•"You don't need a lot of new fangled books to show what multiplication and division mean. You can use popcorn, peanuts, etc. My sister had 'new math' and to this day cannot do math. Never learned her tables," added livelylady.
Some felt the problem was far more complicated than the article suggested.
•"I'm a retired Math teacher. The fix is more complicated than this simplistic article states. First of all, the problem starts in the primary grades, where students are allowed to go on without memorizing times tables. You can't do long division if you don't know your times tables. So, students end up in secondary math courses without the basics," wrote bobbytwotwo.
•"So many people here are going on about long division. Why would anybody ever need to do this? I've only done it once in the past 30 years and that was only to demonstrate that I could.... Why waste our time teaching our kids an algorithm that they will never use? Spend the time teaching higher-level concepts than arithmetic," mused Dr. Genius.
Most commenters stressed the importance of teaching basic skills in all subjects, not just math.
• "I am a former educator and this story hits home... I could not agree more - more emphasis has to be put on the basics. I do not care how technological our society has become. Without the basics, society will not be able to use the technology," said redforever.
•"It isn't just math. When I was in grad school, I taught undergraduate laboratory courses and was constantly amazed how even 4th year students expected to be spoon-fed the answers," observed miss.elaneous.
•"And it's not just math skills," added CalgaryFlamer. "I know that when I interview a lot of people, a surprising number of them have extremely poor skills, both spoken and written."
Few people had any answers, though a few people had some suggestions.
•"Back to the 3R's? No, but we must ensure that basics are mastered and that also includes the life lesson of failure and how to deal with it," wrote teacher Kimberleytg.
•"It seems now the education system is more interested in results than the process to get there. Yet the process is the most important part," noted Carsie.
Lastly, bclion provided sage advice:
"What works is parents who pay attention and don't abdicate their role as teachers themselves. Parents who are actively involved in the learning of their children can mitigate whatever latest strategy is being tried on their children that is not best for them."
Thanks to all of you for your comments on this story.
The study, titled Math Instruction that Makes Sense, "demonstrates conclusively that traditional math education methods are superior to the highly ineffective, discovery-based instructional techniques that are in vogue now in educational curricula," said a news release from the public policy think tank.
The story generated a lot of thoughtful remarks from CBC audience members, many of whom shared their experiences as educators and parents, struggling to see the benefits of new math.
A few people couldn't resist commenting on the study itself.
•"Teachers have been saying this for years. But, nobody listens till some so-called expert does a study," wrote LarryM.
•"Wasn't it 'experts' that came up with the 'new math'?," joked D Bertrand.
However, most members in the CBC Community were anxious to get down to discussing the failings of new math.
•"If the new math is so great then why am I having to sit down with my gr. 9, honour roll student every night to google formulas and how-to's to find out how to do her homework? Not only do I have to explain it to her, but I have to learn the new math so I don't get her totally confused." said xtrabusymom.
•"This was obvious ten years ago. My older brother and I were taught 'old math' and my younger siblings 'new math'. They used calculators in elementary school... we weren't allowed to use them until we started doing trigonometry! They would speak of 'groups' and 'sets' and have to do math with pictures... we did ours with numbers," remarked starrydays17.
•"You don't need a lot of new fangled books to show what multiplication and division mean. You can use popcorn, peanuts, etc. My sister had 'new math' and to this day cannot do math. Never learned her tables," added livelylady.
Some felt the problem was far more complicated than the article suggested.
•"I'm a retired Math teacher. The fix is more complicated than this simplistic article states. First of all, the problem starts in the primary grades, where students are allowed to go on without memorizing times tables. You can't do long division if you don't know your times tables. So, students end up in secondary math courses without the basics," wrote bobbytwotwo.
•"So many people here are going on about long division. Why would anybody ever need to do this? I've only done it once in the past 30 years and that was only to demonstrate that I could.... Why waste our time teaching our kids an algorithm that they will never use? Spend the time teaching higher-level concepts than arithmetic," mused Dr. Genius.
Most commenters stressed the importance of teaching basic skills in all subjects, not just math.
• "I am a former educator and this story hits home... I could not agree more - more emphasis has to be put on the basics. I do not care how technological our society has become. Without the basics, society will not be able to use the technology," said redforever.
•"It isn't just math. When I was in grad school, I taught undergraduate laboratory courses and was constantly amazed how even 4th year students expected to be spoon-fed the answers," observed miss.elaneous.
•"And it's not just math skills," added CalgaryFlamer. "I know that when I interview a lot of people, a surprising number of them have extremely poor skills, both spoken and written."
Few people had any answers, though a few people had some suggestions.
•"Back to the 3R's? No, but we must ensure that basics are mastered and that also includes the life lesson of failure and how to deal with it," wrote teacher Kimberleytg.
•"It seems now the education system is more interested in results than the process to get there. Yet the process is the most important part," noted Carsie.
Lastly, bclion provided sage advice:
"What works is parents who pay attention and don't abdicate their role as teachers themselves. Parents who are actively involved in the learning of their children can mitigate whatever latest strategy is being tried on their children that is not best for them."
Thanks to all of you for your comments on this story.
New math equals trouble, education expert says
The answer is simple: old math is greater than new math, according to the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
The study, titled Math Instruction that Makes Sense, “demonstrates conclusively that traditional math education methods are superior to the highly ineffective, discovery-based instructional techniques that are in vogue now in educational curricula,” said a news release from the public policy think tank.
The centre suggests that to improve math instruction “schools must place a much stronger emphasis on mastering basic math skills and standard algorithms. Math curriculum guides must require the learning of standard algorithms, and textbooks must contain clear, systematic instructions as to their use.”
Frontier’s education research fellow Michael Zwaagstra said discovery-based instructional techniques are not of much use when students move on to college or university programs.
The study focused on the four Western provinces.
Zwaagstra is quoted as saying that these ineffective, yet commonly used techniques are leaving a whole generation of high school students unprepared for many of their academic or vocational programs.
“In order for students to receive a strong grounding in math, they need to spend more time practising math skills such as basic addition and subtraction along with the standard multiplication tables,” Zwaagstra said.
The methods these days, reported CBC’s Geoff Leo, include moving to experimental approaches and moving to using blocks, charts, graphs “and even experimentation where they come up with their own math.”
Leo said he spoke with a math professor who said students don't know how to do long division.
Leo said some parents are resorting to hiring tutors to help their kids with the current program.
Zwaagstra said in report that first-year post-secondary students “are increasingly unprepared for university-level mathematics, and this has led to a proliferation of remedial math courses at universities across Canada.”
The study, titled Math Instruction that Makes Sense, “demonstrates conclusively that traditional math education methods are superior to the highly ineffective, discovery-based instructional techniques that are in vogue now in educational curricula,” said a news release from the public policy think tank.
The centre suggests that to improve math instruction “schools must place a much stronger emphasis on mastering basic math skills and standard algorithms. Math curriculum guides must require the learning of standard algorithms, and textbooks must contain clear, systematic instructions as to their use.”
Frontier’s education research fellow Michael Zwaagstra said discovery-based instructional techniques are not of much use when students move on to college or university programs.
The study focused on the four Western provinces.
Zwaagstra is quoted as saying that these ineffective, yet commonly used techniques are leaving a whole generation of high school students unprepared for many of their academic or vocational programs.
“In order for students to receive a strong grounding in math, they need to spend more time practising math skills such as basic addition and subtraction along with the standard multiplication tables,” Zwaagstra said.
The methods these days, reported CBC’s Geoff Leo, include moving to experimental approaches and moving to using blocks, charts, graphs “and even experimentation where they come up with their own math.”
Leo said he spoke with a math professor who said students don't know how to do long division.
Leo said some parents are resorting to hiring tutors to help their kids with the current program.
Zwaagstra said in report that first-year post-secondary students “are increasingly unprepared for university-level mathematics, and this has led to a proliferation of remedial math courses at universities across Canada.”
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
NJ - Math in Focus will replace EDM
Changes are ahead for math curriculum and instruction. Students in grades K-5 will have more time devoted to math this year, and the district will replace "Everyday Math" with the "Math in Focus" program. This change means that "spiraling" will be replaced by "mastery."
Rosetta Wilson, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, explained that mapping of the grades 6-12 curriculum began in spring. A goal is to increase algebra in all grades, across all levels. Two courses were adopted at CHS last month: Intro to Calculus, and Calculus/Intro to Linear Algebra.
A professional development goal asks teachers to become more "diagnostic" in their teaching, becoming "more adept at diagnosing what students are learning."
Math classrooms are expected to become more student-centered, with less teacher talk.
PSAT testing was instituted for last year's sophomore class. Their scores were used as part of the summer Step-Up classes.
Wilson noted that a goal is to help the community become more aware of what goes on in math classes. Open classes are being considered.
In grades K-5, the program Math in Focus is proposed for implementation next school year. It will replace Everyday Math in K-5. Everyday Math uses a "spiraling" approach to teaching, where a given topic is covered year after year, in more depth each time. Math in Focus, said Wilson, looks to "mastery," where students consider a topic for a longer period.
A professional goal, noted Wilson, is for teachers to build their math capacity, which allows them to teach skills more effectively.
Math instruction will increase to 90 minutes daily; 60 minutes of classwork and 30 minutes of independent work. This will replace some time spent in science and Social Studies, effective this year.
Jennifer Payne-Parrish encouraged Wilson to introduce curriculum changes at Back-to-School night; there are no formal plans to do so.
Andrea Wren-Hardin noted a concern that students will have less Social Studies and science instruction. Wilson acknowledged that those subjects have been "streamlined," with some units of study removed.
A further concern was students who weren't challenged previously, spending 60 minutes daily on math, will now see 90 minutes of the same. Wilson said this will be addressed in each classroom.
Overall, said Wilson, the district is going "for depth, not breadth" in rolling out changes to the math curriculum.
Rosetta Wilson, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, explained that mapping of the grades 6-12 curriculum began in spring. A goal is to increase algebra in all grades, across all levels. Two courses were adopted at CHS last month: Intro to Calculus, and Calculus/Intro to Linear Algebra.
A professional development goal asks teachers to become more "diagnostic" in their teaching, becoming "more adept at diagnosing what students are learning."
Math classrooms are expected to become more student-centered, with less teacher talk.
PSAT testing was instituted for last year's sophomore class. Their scores were used as part of the summer Step-Up classes.
Wilson noted that a goal is to help the community become more aware of what goes on in math classes. Open classes are being considered.
In grades K-5, the program Math in Focus is proposed for implementation next school year. It will replace Everyday Math in K-5. Everyday Math uses a "spiraling" approach to teaching, where a given topic is covered year after year, in more depth each time. Math in Focus, said Wilson, looks to "mastery," where students consider a topic for a longer period.
A professional goal, noted Wilson, is for teachers to build their math capacity, which allows them to teach skills more effectively.
Math instruction will increase to 90 minutes daily; 60 minutes of classwork and 30 minutes of independent work. This will replace some time spent in science and Social Studies, effective this year.
Jennifer Payne-Parrish encouraged Wilson to introduce curriculum changes at Back-to-School night; there are no formal plans to do so.
Andrea Wren-Hardin noted a concern that students will have less Social Studies and science instruction. Wilson acknowledged that those subjects have been "streamlined," with some units of study removed.
A further concern was students who weren't challenged previously, spending 60 minutes daily on math, will now see 90 minutes of the same. Wilson said this will be addressed in each classroom.
Overall, said Wilson, the district is going "for depth, not breadth" in rolling out changes to the math curriculum.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Attorney questions Portland's texbook adoption process....
Bill Nemitz: A textbook example of caring
Her daughter, who started kindergarten last week at Portland's Longfellow Elementary School, is still six years away from middle school.
So why was Anna Collins standing up there before the Portland school board late Tuesday evening, raising eyebrows with her questions about the city's brand-new middle school math curriculum?
"My kid is just starting this process. If I don't do something now, this is done -- and I will be on the hook," Collins said in an interview Wednesday. "I will be one of those parents who never participated. I will be one of those parents who didn't show up."
Instead, less than a week after she logged onto her computer and headed for Portland Public Schools' website, Collins has school administrators and board members alike squirming in their seats and wondering exactly who's in charge when it comes to what's going on in Portland's classrooms these days.
"We're very impressed with the quality of the work that she put into her dialogue with us," noted Superintendent Jim Morse. "It's certainly unique in my two years (in Portland) -- I've not seen anyone come forward on a curriculum issue in all the time I've been superintendent."
It all started on Sept. 8, when Collins dropped off her daughter for the first day of school and, that evening, stopped by for a meeting of the Longfellow Parent Teacher Organization.
She had what turned out to be an unusual request: Could someone provide her with a copy of the kindergarten curriculum so she'd know what her little girl was doing each day?
She might as well have been speaking Greek. Curriculum? Hmmm ... what curriculum?
"So I started educating myself," Collins said.
Collins, it should be noted, is a lawyer -- and an intelligent one at that.
A product of the public school system in Russia, where she was raised, she's long had a particular interest in what was referred to a decade ago as the "math wars" -- a philosophical battle between those who favored "traditional," memorization-based math instruction and those who preferred newer, "constructivist" strategies that focus more on real-life problem solving.
Collins, for the record, prefers a blending of the two, with early emphasis on the fundamentals. But back to her research.
"So I go online and start looking at every school in Portland to try and figure out what the math curriculum is," she recalled. "And I can't easily figure it out -- it's not readily available information." Eventually, she came across a letter to parents on the King Middle School website announcing that, as of this fall, Portland's three middle schools have adopted the so-called University of Chicago School Math Project curriculum.
"That was news to me -- on day three of my research," said Collins, who's not a big fan of that program because (unlike Superintendent Morse) she doesn't think it focuses enough on the basics.
Next, Collins went to the laws and policies governing how the school board does business. That's where she found this policy under "curriculum adoption":
"No course of study shall be eliminated or new courses added without an in-depth study and subsequent approval by the School Committee, nor shall any basic alteration or reduction of a course of study be made without such approval."
On Collins went to old school board minutes, where she found neither a vote by the board on the new math curriculum nor any indication that the public ever weighed in on it.
"This cannot happen in a vacuum," Collins said. "If it happens in a vacuum, parents have even less impetus to care."
Tuesday evening, at the end of a long agenda, the board finally reached its last item of business: "Board Focus on Educational Issues -- Middle School Math Curriculum."
There at the podium, all by herself, stood Collins.
She came prepared: Before the meeting, each board member got her bound, eight-page memo (with another 38 pages of attachments) in which Collins analyzed not just how the new curriculum came into being, but how in her view the board's own policies and procedures were either sidestepped or ignored along the way.
"There has been no vote to approve the Chicago math curriculum across the district for all middle schools," she wrote. "Instead, the school board has allowed the superintendent to choose the curriculum by purchasing and implementing a curriculum in the form of textbooks."
What's more, she later noted, "it appears that parents were not involved in the implementation process."
Morse, in an interview Wednesday, said the school board did in fact approve the Chicago math textbooks and other instructional materials in June, after an exhaustive in-house study by administrators and teachers.
The middle school math overhaul, he added, stemmed from his determination to adopt common curricula throughout the city's school system -- and get away from the "disjointed" teaching strategies that for years have differed from school to school (and, in some schools, from classroom to classroom). But what about the lack of a school board vote on the curriculum change itself, as required in the board's own policy?
"We do not believe the curriculum has changed. We believe that the program/textbook materials have changed," Morse replied.
Might others believe differently?
"That's what's going to be teased out at the school board level -- how we understand that together," he said.
That can't happen soon enough for several school board members who were contacted Thursday.
"I think we need a better public process to get at these decisions," said board member Jaimey Caron. "Having a process, regardless of who makes the final decision, I think helps with communication, it helps get information out that is critical to parents."
Kate Snyder, the board's chair, said a workshop was already scheduled for Tuesday, before Collins' arrival, to discuss the board's role in future curricular decisions.
And while she doesn't agree with all the conclusions in Collins' memo, Snyder said, "The timing is kind of perfect. . . . She made me think about some of the planning I'm doing as chair of the board in a way that will definitely improve the workshop on Tuesday -- it will help us find some of the clarity we need."
Board member Marnie Morrione, who wasn't even fully aware that "Chicago Math" is already up and running, said Collins' efforts already have had a "huge" impact on the board and the administration.
"It would be wonderful to have more citizens like her," said Morrione.
Which brings us back to Collins: Having clearly done her homework with the school board, might the mother of a kindergartner have a message for fellow parents?
Indeed.
"Wake up," Collins said. "Make a commitment to go to at least one school committee meeting each year. Just do it. It's not that hard. This is your child's education we're talking about."
Class dismissed.
Columnist Bill Nemitz can be contacted at 791-6323 or at:
bnemitz@mainetoday.com
Her daughter, who started kindergarten last week at Portland's Longfellow Elementary School, is still six years away from middle school.
So why was Anna Collins standing up there before the Portland school board late Tuesday evening, raising eyebrows with her questions about the city's brand-new middle school math curriculum?
"My kid is just starting this process. If I don't do something now, this is done -- and I will be on the hook," Collins said in an interview Wednesday. "I will be one of those parents who never participated. I will be one of those parents who didn't show up."
Instead, less than a week after she logged onto her computer and headed for Portland Public Schools' website, Collins has school administrators and board members alike squirming in their seats and wondering exactly who's in charge when it comes to what's going on in Portland's classrooms these days.
"We're very impressed with the quality of the work that she put into her dialogue with us," noted Superintendent Jim Morse. "It's certainly unique in my two years (in Portland) -- I've not seen anyone come forward on a curriculum issue in all the time I've been superintendent."
It all started on Sept. 8, when Collins dropped off her daughter for the first day of school and, that evening, stopped by for a meeting of the Longfellow Parent Teacher Organization.
She had what turned out to be an unusual request: Could someone provide her with a copy of the kindergarten curriculum so she'd know what her little girl was doing each day?
She might as well have been speaking Greek. Curriculum? Hmmm ... what curriculum?
"So I started educating myself," Collins said.
Collins, it should be noted, is a lawyer -- and an intelligent one at that.
A product of the public school system in Russia, where she was raised, she's long had a particular interest in what was referred to a decade ago as the "math wars" -- a philosophical battle between those who favored "traditional," memorization-based math instruction and those who preferred newer, "constructivist" strategies that focus more on real-life problem solving.
Collins, for the record, prefers a blending of the two, with early emphasis on the fundamentals. But back to her research.
"So I go online and start looking at every school in Portland to try and figure out what the math curriculum is," she recalled. "And I can't easily figure it out -- it's not readily available information." Eventually, she came across a letter to parents on the King Middle School website announcing that, as of this fall, Portland's three middle schools have adopted the so-called University of Chicago School Math Project curriculum.
"That was news to me -- on day three of my research," said Collins, who's not a big fan of that program because (unlike Superintendent Morse) she doesn't think it focuses enough on the basics.
Next, Collins went to the laws and policies governing how the school board does business. That's where she found this policy under "curriculum adoption":
"No course of study shall be eliminated or new courses added without an in-depth study and subsequent approval by the School Committee, nor shall any basic alteration or reduction of a course of study be made without such approval."
On Collins went to old school board minutes, where she found neither a vote by the board on the new math curriculum nor any indication that the public ever weighed in on it.
"This cannot happen in a vacuum," Collins said. "If it happens in a vacuum, parents have even less impetus to care."
Tuesday evening, at the end of a long agenda, the board finally reached its last item of business: "Board Focus on Educational Issues -- Middle School Math Curriculum."
There at the podium, all by herself, stood Collins.
She came prepared: Before the meeting, each board member got her bound, eight-page memo (with another 38 pages of attachments) in which Collins analyzed not just how the new curriculum came into being, but how in her view the board's own policies and procedures were either sidestepped or ignored along the way.
"There has been no vote to approve the Chicago math curriculum across the district for all middle schools," she wrote. "Instead, the school board has allowed the superintendent to choose the curriculum by purchasing and implementing a curriculum in the form of textbooks."
What's more, she later noted, "it appears that parents were not involved in the implementation process."
Morse, in an interview Wednesday, said the school board did in fact approve the Chicago math textbooks and other instructional materials in June, after an exhaustive in-house study by administrators and teachers.
The middle school math overhaul, he added, stemmed from his determination to adopt common curricula throughout the city's school system -- and get away from the "disjointed" teaching strategies that for years have differed from school to school (and, in some schools, from classroom to classroom). But what about the lack of a school board vote on the curriculum change itself, as required in the board's own policy?
"We do not believe the curriculum has changed. We believe that the program/textbook materials have changed," Morse replied.
Might others believe differently?
"That's what's going to be teased out at the school board level -- how we understand that together," he said.
That can't happen soon enough for several school board members who were contacted Thursday.
"I think we need a better public process to get at these decisions," said board member Jaimey Caron. "Having a process, regardless of who makes the final decision, I think helps with communication, it helps get information out that is critical to parents."
Kate Snyder, the board's chair, said a workshop was already scheduled for Tuesday, before Collins' arrival, to discuss the board's role in future curricular decisions.
And while she doesn't agree with all the conclusions in Collins' memo, Snyder said, "The timing is kind of perfect. . . . She made me think about some of the planning I'm doing as chair of the board in a way that will definitely improve the workshop on Tuesday -- it will help us find some of the clarity we need."
Board member Marnie Morrione, who wasn't even fully aware that "Chicago Math" is already up and running, said Collins' efforts already have had a "huge" impact on the board and the administration.
"It would be wonderful to have more citizens like her," said Morrione.
Which brings us back to Collins: Having clearly done her homework with the school board, might the mother of a kindergartner have a message for fellow parents?
Indeed.
"Wake up," Collins said. "Make a commitment to go to at least one school committee meeting each year. Just do it. It's not that hard. This is your child's education we're talking about."
Class dismissed.
Columnist Bill Nemitz can be contacted at 791-6323 or at:
bnemitz@mainetoday.com
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Scarborough (ME) selects Singapore Math
Schools take stock of new math program
Posted by Leader Editor at 9/1/2011 9:33 AM
Categories: uncategorized
By Dan Aceto
Staff Writer
Scarborough students in kindergarten to fifth grade can look forward to a new and engaging way to learn mathematics this year.
The Scarborough School Department now uses Math in Focus: The Singapore Approach. The new curriculum provides students with a balanced, research-based curriculum that emphasizes mastery and understanding of mathematical skills to develop critical and creative thinking, said Monique Culbertson, the department’s director of curriculum and assessment.
Culbertson said the program is an opportunity for students to develop mathematical skills that will lead them to greater success in life.
“We’re very excited about the potential here,” she said. “The national consultant who came in to work with teachers was impressed with the enthusiasm of math instruction and left feeling quite confident, saying we may be a demonstration site in the future. That kind of feedback is exciting and the credit goes to teachers for their energy and time preparing for a new curriculum.”
The new program, which has been in research and development for two years, places greater emphasis on “mastery” of mathematical skill sets before students move on to more challenging lessons said Culbertson.
“The content is not one of a spiraling curriculum where students keep repeating the same thing year after year,” Culbertson said. “The content is one where students’ focus in on a specific area to develop skill and proficiency. They are going to be getting more in-depth on topics because they will be working toward mastery of a skill.”
Like the previous math curriculum, Culbertson said skills will continually be reinforced and built upon, although the new program allows for a greater understanding of different skill sets such as multiplication, division, addition and subtraction. Teaching will involve class-led discussions, as well as independent study for individual students who are working on mastery of certain skill sets.
The framework of the curriculum centers around five core principles aimed at achieving mathematical problem solving: attitudes, meta-cognition, processes, concepts and skills.
The attitudes component deals with appreciation, interest, confidence and perseverance of mathematical topics. The meta-cognition component deals with monitoring ones own thinking.
The processes component deals with thinking skills and strategies. The concepts component deals with numerical, geometrical, algebraic and statistical concepts. The skills component deals with estimation approximate mental calculation, communication and use of mathematical tools, algebraic manipulation and data analysis, according to Culbertson.
The curriculum follows what is known as a concrete-pictorial-abstract progression, meaning that students will understand both how math works and why it does, Culbertson said.
Concrete concepts include physical items that aid in the assistance of learning math, such as building blocks, cubes, tiles, chips and other items. The pictorial component includes pictures, bar graphs and models, number bonds, diagrams, charts and other diagrams.
The abstract component deals with concepts such as numerals, mathematical notation and symbols, algorithms, estimation, predications and written and oral explanations.
Students also will use textbooks and technology resources to assist them in understanding concepts taught throughout the curriculum.
For Kathy Tirrell, math specialist at Scarborough Middle School, the program is eagerly anticipated.
“We’re really excited,” Tirrell said. “One of things that strikes me about it being a good fit is that it has problem solving embedded in the program, so students will be able to move from simple to complex problems, routine to non-routine problems and take their problem solving skills and apply it to new situations.”
“With the combination of problem solving and skills, kids can remember concepts when they go to concrete to pictorial to abstract, and understand why math works, not just how,” said Tirrell, who worked on the Curriculum Committee.
Culbertson said the new curriculum has been evaluated internationally and Singapore has consistently placed in the top three spots in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study during the past 12 years.
“Students using the curriculum tested significantly better than others,” Culbertson said. “This is a curriculum that has a track record.”
Posted by Leader Editor at 9/1/2011 9:33 AM
Categories: uncategorized
By Dan Aceto
Staff Writer
Scarborough students in kindergarten to fifth grade can look forward to a new and engaging way to learn mathematics this year.
The Scarborough School Department now uses Math in Focus: The Singapore Approach. The new curriculum provides students with a balanced, research-based curriculum that emphasizes mastery and understanding of mathematical skills to develop critical and creative thinking, said Monique Culbertson, the department’s director of curriculum and assessment.
Culbertson said the program is an opportunity for students to develop mathematical skills that will lead them to greater success in life.
“We’re very excited about the potential here,” she said. “The national consultant who came in to work with teachers was impressed with the enthusiasm of math instruction and left feeling quite confident, saying we may be a demonstration site in the future. That kind of feedback is exciting and the credit goes to teachers for their energy and time preparing for a new curriculum.”
The new program, which has been in research and development for two years, places greater emphasis on “mastery” of mathematical skill sets before students move on to more challenging lessons said Culbertson.
“The content is not one of a spiraling curriculum where students keep repeating the same thing year after year,” Culbertson said. “The content is one where students’ focus in on a specific area to develop skill and proficiency. They are going to be getting more in-depth on topics because they will be working toward mastery of a skill.”
Like the previous math curriculum, Culbertson said skills will continually be reinforced and built upon, although the new program allows for a greater understanding of different skill sets such as multiplication, division, addition and subtraction. Teaching will involve class-led discussions, as well as independent study for individual students who are working on mastery of certain skill sets.
The framework of the curriculum centers around five core principles aimed at achieving mathematical problem solving: attitudes, meta-cognition, processes, concepts and skills.
The attitudes component deals with appreciation, interest, confidence and perseverance of mathematical topics. The meta-cognition component deals with monitoring ones own thinking.
The processes component deals with thinking skills and strategies. The concepts component deals with numerical, geometrical, algebraic and statistical concepts. The skills component deals with estimation approximate mental calculation, communication and use of mathematical tools, algebraic manipulation and data analysis, according to Culbertson.
The curriculum follows what is known as a concrete-pictorial-abstract progression, meaning that students will understand both how math works and why it does, Culbertson said.
Concrete concepts include physical items that aid in the assistance of learning math, such as building blocks, cubes, tiles, chips and other items. The pictorial component includes pictures, bar graphs and models, number bonds, diagrams, charts and other diagrams.
The abstract component deals with concepts such as numerals, mathematical notation and symbols, algorithms, estimation, predications and written and oral explanations.
Students also will use textbooks and technology resources to assist them in understanding concepts taught throughout the curriculum.
For Kathy Tirrell, math specialist at Scarborough Middle School, the program is eagerly anticipated.
“We’re really excited,” Tirrell said. “One of things that strikes me about it being a good fit is that it has problem solving embedded in the program, so students will be able to move from simple to complex problems, routine to non-routine problems and take their problem solving skills and apply it to new situations.”
“With the combination of problem solving and skills, kids can remember concepts when they go to concrete to pictorial to abstract, and understand why math works, not just how,” said Tirrell, who worked on the Curriculum Committee.
Culbertson said the new curriculum has been evaluated internationally and Singapore has consistently placed in the top three spots in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study during the past 12 years.
“Students using the curriculum tested significantly better than others,” Culbertson said. “This is a curriculum that has a track record.”
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