Commonwealth Education Organization
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- Math
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| *January 20, 2012 NATIONAL STUDY FINDS INVESTIGATIONS STUDENTS TRAIL THOSE IN OTHER MAJOR PROGRAMS "The study was undertaken with the goal of finding out – with real evidence – whether the type of curriculum used in early elementary math education matters when it comes to achievement and learning. It compares four programs: Math Expressions, Saxon, Scott Foresman/Addison Wesley and Investigations. Investigations is the pure constructivist program on the list, Scott Foresman is a combination, but primarily with constructivist pedagogy. Math Expressions is a balanced program that uses both traditional math practice and a partial constructivist approach. Saxon is the most traditional of the programs." >>read more>> |
| *January 18, 2012 "The researchers: "When policymakers believe that achievement differences in mathematics can be overcome by simply reducing stereotypical beliefs (as the literature suggests), they might not be willing to invest in the study of other potential contributing factors and thus will not pursue solutions for these factors." >>read more>> |
| January 7, 2012 'IF FRED GOT TWO BEATINGS PER DAY...' HOMEWORK ASKS "Third graders in in Gwinnett County, Ga., were given math homework Wednesday that asked questions about slavery and beatings." >>read more>> Related article: January 9, 2012 WELCOME TO COMMON CORE MATH STANDARDS! SLAVES ARE PICKING ORANGES AND GETTING BEATINGS "The teacher's treatment of an important subject in American history used out of context in a math problem has caused concern on many levels. Will the teacher now be labelled as an "ineffective teacher" so he/she can be reassigned or terminated and a TFA teacher can take his/her place in the classroom? " >>read more>> |
| December 16, 2011 WHY OTHER COUNTRIES DO BETTER IN MATH “The high mathematical achievement of students in these nations is due primarily to the excellent education they receive in school, not the fact that parents are more likely to pay for tutors. Parental attitudes are important but what many people miss is the fact that in the U.S. parents pay tutors for the lack of what their children learn in school while in Singapore and Japan parents pay tutors to improve their children's chances of success on high stakes entrance exams (much like parents pay for SAT tutoring in the U.S.).” >>read more>> |
| November 26, 2011 SINGAPORE MATH DEMYSTIFIED! When I began working with the Japanese teachers, I soon realized three important reasons why they were such good math teachers:(1) They had a high level of math content knowledge. In fact, I felt that their first grade teachers knew more about math than I did as an 8th grade teacher! (2) They used thin, lightweight paperback textbooks that were much more focused and coherent than our heavy hard cover books. (3) They continually worked to improve their teaching throughout their careers by conducting lesson study. >>read more>> |
| Friday, December 02 2011 CALCULATOR BAN ON YOUNG PUPILS (United Kingdom) "Children are to be banned from using calculators in the early years of primary school to tackle a nationwide crisis in basic maths skills." >>read more>> |
| October 3, 2011 EVERYDAY Math JUST DOESN’T ADD UP “Many of the teachers stated that because the EDM program teaches on the conceptual level it would be a good fit for advanced and above average students. But what about the average and less than average students who comprise about 80% of the population on a standard bell-shaped curve? The EDM requires high level thinking which is not for everyone.” >>read more>> |
| September 21, 2011 NEW MATH EQUALS TROUBLE, EDUCATION EXPERT SAYS “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.” >>read more>> |
| September 20, 2011 THE MYTH ABOUT TRADITIONAL MATH EDUCATION “The education establishment continues to advance faddish techniques such as group and collaborative learning, inquiry-based and problem-based learning, while it pays lip service to traditional approaches, calling it a “balanced approach”. While there are aspects of teaching and texts of the past that could definitely be improved, the question remains why the educational establishment remains intent on throwing the baby out with the bath water.” >>read more>> |
| September 7, 2011 MICROSOFT SURVEY FINDS STUDENTS LACKING IN MATH SKILLS “Only 20 percent of college students said they felt their high-school math and science courses prepared them well enough for their college courses, according to Microsoft surveys.” >>read more>> |
| September 6, 2011 POLITICS, NOT MATH, DRIVING MANY MATH CLASSES "Students need schools to focus on content knowledge and skills. Any school that refuses to do that, in the name of equity and social justice, is engaging in neither." >>read more>> |
| The following article is being linked to with permission from WORLD Magazine: August 27, 2011 MATH-TEARS=KAHN ACADEMY “An increasingly popular online program is teaching children across the country to love a subject they once dreaded” >>read more>> |
| August 26, 2011 WHEN WILL I EVER USE IT? "It all sounds sensible, even seductive. The worst ideas in education always do. “Relevant” isn’t supposed to be a synonym for dumbed-down, for example. It just always seems to work out that way. And my hunch is that students might struggle less with algebra, geometry and calculus if they showed up in high school with a strong foundation in basic math skills." >>read more>> |
| August 19, 2011 SOLVING AMERICA'S MATH CHALLENGE "Some educators believe the root of the problem lies in the early grades, where schools aren’t teaching enough of the basics. Once those students move on to higher grades and more challenging math concepts, they could be more likely to tune out. ‘The problem is a lot of kids aren’t getting those building blocks,’ said DeBenedictis. Without that base, she added, those students can ‘feel very shaky’ taking on more conceptual math problems. Possibly contributing to that problem is the difficulty schools have trying to find effective math teachers, particularly at the elementary school level. There are a lot of good teachers, and a lot of good mathematicians, but not many people who are both." >>read more>> |
| August 4, 2011 STUDY SAYS GUM HELPS STUDENTS WITH MATH “According to a new study in the brainy Journal of Adolescence, eighth-graders who chew gum during math class and homework time score higher on standardized tests than their empty-mouthed classmates.” >>read more>> |
| July 13, 2011 WHY SO MANY ELEMENTARY STUDENTS AREN’T MASTERING BASIC MATH FACTS “I think students would be far better served by having HALF the number of math topics ...and making sure they have mastered basic addition facts (by heart), addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers, and multiplication tables up to 5 (by heart) before moving into Grade 3. If parents don’t have time to drill children at home on these facts, then some time for it should be allowed in the school curriculum.” >>read Part One>> >>read Part Two>> |
| June 26, 2011 MATH EXPRESSIONS—NEW MATH PLAN COMES TO FRUITION “The State College Area school board earlier this month approved purchasing the materials for the new program, Math Expressions, which educators have described as having a more balanced approach than the previous curriculum, Investigations in Number, Data and Space.” >>read more>> |
| May 20, 2011 MATH WARS PARENT MEDAL OF HONOR “Parents are to be commended for calling for fully informed, research based, open decision making involving all school constituencies and including the full range of necessary mathematics and instructional experience and expertise, and for recognizing the value of transparency and inclusiveness in deliberations on mathematics education issues.” >>read more>> |
| April 18, 2011 A BETTER WAY TO TEACH MATH “Children come into school with differences in background knowledge, confidence, ability to stay on task and, in the case of math, quickness. In school, those advantages can get multiplied rather than evened out. One reason, says Mighton, is that teaching methods are not aligned with what cognitive science tells us about the brain and how learning happens.” >>read more>> |
| April 5, 2011 NEW MATH = HIGH SCORES: Singapore system working at Santa Catalina “...a lack of emphasis on teaching basic skills in the lower grades is partly to blame for poor test results at schools nationwide. For example, students are expected to grasp algebra and geometry without having mastered fractions and ratios. ‘What makes Singapore Math special is the sequence in which the skills are taught. Addition and subtraction aren't taught as separate subjects, but simultaneously, instead of being compartmentalized.’” >>read more>> |
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THE THIRD STAGE OF LEARNING MATH FACTS: DEVELOPING AUTOMATICITY |
| September 27, 2010 GET RID OF CALCULATORS "My prescription for improving mathematics education would include eliminating the use of calculators, ensuring that elementary math teachers are truly proficient in mathematics through Algebra II, requiring students to demonstrate proficiency in the core mathematics disciplines before moving into non-core topics like statistics, and returning to proof-based geometry.” >>read more>> |
| September 27, 2010 DEFICIENCIES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS “The location of and enrollment at some of the flourishing after-school programs in mathematics that have sprung up in the past two decades suggest they are a response to the deficiencies mathematically literate parents perceive in their public school's mathematics coursework and pedagogy.” >>read more>> |
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September 9, 2010
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| August 10, 2010 STUDENTS UNDERSTANDING OF EQUAL SIGN NOT EQUAL “Taken very literally, not all students are created equal—especially in their math learning skills, say Texas A&M University researchers who have found that not fully understanding the “equal sign” in a math problem could be a key to why U.S. students under perform their peers from other countries in math.” >>read more>> |
| August 3, 2010 DOING THE “MATH!” “For the last 10 years or so, parents and some educators across the country have raised doubts about “constructivist” math, sometimes generating enough protest to have the program thrown out of their school district.” >>read more>> |
| Singapore Math January 24, 2010 SINGAPORE MATH A SUCCESS SO FAR IN FAYETTE CO. (Kentucky) “So-called "Singapore math" features problems that often are more complex than American textbooks contain. It demands deep mastery of a few math concepts, rather than an overview of many different ideas. And it aims to give students a basic understanding of how math works, rather than a simple rote system for finding answers.” >>read more>> February 16, 2010 THE SECRET OF SCHMITZ PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IS SINGAPORE MATH “In the war over school math — in which a judge recently ordered Seattle Public Schools to redo its choice of high-school math — Schmitz Park is a redoubt or, it hopes, a beachhead. North Beach is a redoubt for Saxon Math, a traditional program. Both schools have permission to be different. The rest of the district's elementary schools use Everyday Math, a curriculum influenced by the constructivist or reform methods.” >>read more>> |
| February 7, 2010 JUDGE TELLS SEATTLE SCHOOL BOARD: DO THE MATH “FINALLY someone has stood up to the institutional urge at Seattle Public Schools to adopt constructivist or reform math: Judge Julie Spector of King County Superior Court ruled Thursday that the district's adoption of the Discovering series of high-school math texts was ‘arbitrary’ and ‘capricious.’ “ >>read more>> |
| March 2010 NUMBER WARS: SCHOOL BATTLES HEAT UP AGAIN IN THE TRADITIONAL VERSUS REFORM-MATH DEBATE “Weak student scores fuel the fight in mathematics education One sentiment unites almost all math professionals—after decades of wrangling, the system still isn’t working. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. high school students ranked in the bottom quarter in math performance, as compared with students of nations belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. In a future expected to depend even more on science, health and technology, that is bad news indeed.” >>read more>> |
| November 13, 2009 WHO NEEDS MATHEMATICIANS FOR MATH, ANYWAY? “The heart of the disagreement between progressive math educators and mathematicians is whether students are acquiring a foundation in arithmetic and other aspects of mathematics in the early grades that prepares them for authentic algebra coursework in grades 7, 8, and 9. If not, they then cannot successfully complete the advanced math courses in high school that will prepare them adequately for freshman college courses using mathematics.” >>read more>> |
| March 7, 2003 HOW NOT TO TEACH MATH “There’s mounting evidence that Fuzzy Math doesn’t work. During the 1990s, Fuzzy Math represented the new wave…so district after district across the country tried it out. But its popularity among educational elites could not hide the dismal test scores.” >>read more>> |
| *Math-2003 A Brief History of American K-12 Mathematics Education in the 20th Century >>read more>> |
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Commonwealth Education Organization . 3830 Saxonburg Blvd. Cheswick , Pa. 15024 . (412) 967-9691
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