Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Math is Math, Change Is Inevitable


Last spring the New Salem-Almont school district purchased and this fall implemented a new math curriculum.  The K-8 program is called “Go Math!” and is vertically aligned with the high school curriculum.  A vertically aligned curriculum is written so the information students learn in a lower grade or during previous course prepares them for more advanced grades and more challenging work.  Vertical alignment is meant to ensure students are ready and able to move forward with no gaps in their learning.

Any time a new curriculum is introduced, whether it is math, science, or reading, there is a period of adjustment.  The new curriculum, as with all new available math curriculums, is written in a way that is different to what many parents are used to.  Many parents may remember their high school math classes as “drill and kill,” where the teacher stood in front of the classroom and worked math problems on the board for an hour and then assigned 20-30 more problems for homework day in and day out.  Those days are behind us.  Today, math is commonly taught through the lens of critical thinking. This means that students are not expected to just “do the work,” but rather find and extract the information necessary to solve the problem before them.

Please keep in mind that the basic math that students are asked to do has not changed.  What has changed is the way is the way students are expected to gather and organize information needed to perform the mathematical functions necessary to find their answers.  Yes, these are new skills that parents and students are not used to practicing.  However, these are skills that are beneficial and necessary to succeed in the world today.  To help parents and students, the new curriculum comes with a wealth of resources that are accessible online.  These resources can be accessed twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and include videos, games, practice problems, and quizzes.

The instructional model has also changed.  Students are now expected to work collaboratively with other students and work through the learning process together.  Yes, there is still teacher-centered delivery of material; however, students are expected to take responsibility for their learning.  Learning is hard work and can be frustrating, that is normal anytime we learning something new. 

Change can be uncomfortable, but change in everything is inevitable.  Whether our students are staying on the farm or heading to the far corners of the world, we need to prepare them for the future and that can not be done by using methods of the past.

It is my hope that over time our students will become great thinkers and doers.  That starts by having high expectations and encouraging them to take chances and fail from time to time.  It is through those failures that we learn and realize our capabilities.

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