Let’s Talk About Our New School Year - Part 3
In last week’s articles, Mr. Conwell gave the “big picture” about American education and our long history with trying to improve math performance. In this article, I want to explain some of the details in our switch to new math standards.
Four years ago our state adopted new education standards – the Kansas College and Career Ready Standards (KCCRS). Kansas, along with most states in the country, used most of the national Common Core standards as the basis for the KCCR standards. But what many people don’t know is that the KCCRS for math are actually derived from the work of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). NCTM was founded in 1920 and has issued its own principles and standards for many years. Although greatly respected by educators, there hasn’t been a great deal of success in implementing them. This is the first time states have truly aligned state standards with the NCTM standards. Even in the few states who claim to be not basing their standards on the common core, their math standards are still derived from the NCTM standards.
Staff in USD 417 started going to meetings and learning the KCCR standards in 2010. At this same time, we made a change in what math book we were using for grades K-5. We started using "Math Expressions" which had more problem solving and asked students to solve math problems in more than one way. Depending on how old your student(s) are, you may have noticed this change. We also started using a screening assessment to help us find students who may have gaps in their math skills. This screening program is called AIMSweb and it gives us information on both math computation (M-COMP) and math applications and problem solving (M-CAP). Screeners are a little bit like when doctors take your temperature or your blood pressure - they do not tell us everything but they can highlight that something isn't completely right. After a student is screened, we can look closer to determine if he/she doesn’t fall in the normal (target) range, get more information, and provide extra help.
The next thing we did as a staff with all students in grades K-12 was to start teaching and emphasizing part of the KCCRS called the "Mathematical Practices." There are eight standards for Mathematical Practice and they apply to all grade levels, K-12. I’ve typed them here exactly as they are typed in the KCCRS. Underneath each one I’ve given some hints to help explain.
1) Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
(Ask, “does this make sense?” Keep trying and don’t give up.)
2) Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
(Use symbols to show abstract concepts. Think about numbers in many ways.)
3) Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
(Explain your thinking and try to understand other’s thinking. Decide if an argument makes sense, ask questions like why/why not, and make an argument using examples.)
4) Model with mathematics.
(Model math with real-life situations, simplify a complicated situation, use tools as models. Show your work in many ways.)
5) Use appropriate tools strategically.
(Use math tools and tell why you chose them – or why they don’t work. Rulers, weights, stopwatches, place value cards, counters, ten-frames, rekenreks, tape diagrams, dot cards, etc. Some tools may be new to you – ask your child’s teacher about ones that are unfamiliar.)
6) Attend to precision.
(Work carefully and check your work. Label, write the units, be neat, use the correct vocabulary. Yes, the correct answer is important.)
7) Look for and make use of structure.
(Step back – do you see the pattern or structure of the problem? Use what you know to solve new problems.)
8) Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
(Look for rules and patterns. Use general methods and shortcuts.)
These eight practices are the foundation of our math instruction and continue to be what we emphasize. Much of what you and your student(s) may be finding challenging about our math programs are actually these eight standards. You can find the Mathematical Practices online reworded in more kid-friendly terms along with other types of help and resources. Unfortunately you can find poor math practices being labeled “common core” when in fact the practice is neither the intent of common core or the KCCR standards. The way the mathematical practices are typed here is exactly what they are.
Knowing these math practices should help you know some questions to ask as your child is working on math. Also, ask your child’s teacher what he or she says or does when a student is struggling. Most of our teachers have a set of questions or steps that will support and lead students and they will be glad to share these with you. It is also much better for your child when you share concerns directly with a teacher or administrator rather than with your child.
During the last four years we have also spent a great deal of time on math training. A team of our teachers spent two weeks at KSU the past two summers, as part of a math project to learn and implement the new standards. Last year we sent four staff members to the NCTM national conference. Teachers have taken college courses, gone to workshops, and worked with each other. The high school staff has worked with the eight mathematical practices to see how they can be applied across all content areas. This past summer a K-12 committee of our teachers worked a week specifically on math to prepare for this new school year. It was at this time that we made the decision on what math programs to use at K-5 (Engage NY/Eureka Math) and 6-8 (CMP3). New manipulatives and tools were purchased and teachers spent many hours preparing materials. We are continuing our training for both Engage NY/Eureka Math and CMP3 programs throughout this school year. We will meet again this summer to look back at the year and make revisions, if necessary.
The other big factor at play with the KCCR math standards is that some math content has been moved to different grade levels. One significant change is with fractions – there is much more fraction work occurring at lower grade levels. I will talk more specifically about these content changes in a future article.