Improving Student Learning: A vision for math education in Utah

1
Improving Student LearningA vision for math
education in Utah

• UCTM Fall 2008

2
Some History
3
Our Common Beliefs
4
A Common Research Base
5
NCTM

• The need to understand and be able to use
  mathematics in everyday life and in the workplace
  has never been greater and will continue to
  increase.
• Mathematics for life
• Mathematics as a part of cultural heritage
• Mathematics for the workplace
• Mathematics for the scientific and technical
  community
• NCTM, Principles and Standards, 2000

6
The Six Principles

• Equity
• Curriculum
• Teaching
• Learning
• Assessment
• Technology

7
National Research Council

• The mathematics students need to learn today is
  not the same mathematics that their parents and
  grandparents needed to learn.
• Choices about the mathematics curriculum and the
  methods used to bring about that curriculum
  depend in part on what society wants educated
  adults to know and be able to do.
• NRC, Adding it Up, 2001

8
Mathematical Proficiency

• Conceptual Understanding
• Procedural Fluency
• Strategic Competence
• Adaptive Reasoning
• Productive Disposition

9
School Level Factors

• Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum
• Challenging Goals and Effective Feedback
• Parental and Community Involvement
• Safe and Orderly Environment
• Collegiality and Professionalism
• Marzano, What Works in Schools, 2003

10
Teacher Level Factors

• The teacher is the most important factor in
  student learning.
• Instructional strategies
• Classroom management
• Classroom curriculum design
• Marzano, What Works in Schools, 2003

11
Student Level Factors

• Home Environment
• Background knowledge
• Motivation
• Marzano, What Works in Schools, 2003

12
Utahs Mathematics Education Mission

• The mission of mathematics education in Utah is
  to promote student growth and learning in
  mathematics in order to prepare students to
  thrive and contribute in the global economy of
  the 21st Century.

13
(No Transcript)
14
The teachers speak
Groups of educators at UCTM answered this
question on the following slides.
How can we use the mathematics model to define
what students need to know and do and to promote
student learning?
15
Mathematical Habits of
Mind?Dont be scared. Understand that math is
everywhere, a part of life, and is
essential.?Be able to use critical thinking to
solve a problem. Use strategies, multiple
methods and collaboration.?Not have to rely
on calculators.?Have the ability to do mental
math.?Know how to access information using
technology.?Recognizing the type of problem and
applying prior knowledge to different
versions.?Being able to determine what should
be done first.
16
Mathematical Habits of Mind - contd

• ?Attacking the practice of math with the same
  diligence as the perfecting ofentertainment
  (video games/texting) or athletics.
• ?Be able to look for patterns.
• ?Recognize an answer that makes sense find
  alternative ways of checking answers.
• ?Be able to read and understand instructions.
• ?Be able to communicate write, speak about
  mathematics.
• ?Be able to apply/generalize their math in daily
  life.

17
Logic and Problem Solving Skills

• ?They need an attitude that is positive toward
  mathematics learning, and a
• willingness to work until they get it.
• ?They need basic skills at the ready learned at
  earlier grades and enforced at home.
• ? They need practice in logical thinking and a
  pattern approach to problem solving.
• ?Understand mathematical vocabulary.
• ?Taking some facts and applying them to a
  mathematical model.

18
Life Skills

• ?Mental Math be able to work life problems
  quickly in your mind (e.g., determine cost before
  getting to the cash register).
• ?Critical Thinking making a realistic choice
  with budget, costs (buying a house, car, any
  large value item), future (paying for
  education, preparing for retirement), etc.
• ?Transfer of knowledge to new situations/problem
  solving skills.
• ?What questions to ask?
• ? Being able to problem solve
• ? Understand alternative solutions
• ? Critically examine real-life situations
• ? Critical consumer, citizen
• ?Mathematical Literacy
• ? Balance an account, loans
• ? Estimation (is that making sense?)
• ? Make change, monetary knowledge
• ? Stats, probability (skewed representation to
  make a point)

19
Life Skills contd

• Life Skills are not being taught because..
• ? The root system is not established because
• ? Community and home we need more support.
• ? Teacher quality Many who teach math are not
• qualified to teach.
• ? Resources in order to teach math, teachers
  have to supply their own
• manipulatives out of their paychecks.
• ? Instruction the top three influence
  instruction.
• ? Curriculum too many gaps and too many
  concepts and not enough
• time.
• ? Without a root system, there is no tree!!

20
Scientific Technical Contributions

• ? Relate our math/science teaching to current
  developments in math/science/ technology.
• ? Literacy issues of understanding and
  interpreting scientific developments
• (human genome sequenced, space
  advancements, economy, valid scientific
• research).
• ?Increase understanding of statistics and
  probability in particular so that students can
  use and interpret scientific knowledge and
  research.
• ?Integrating technology in everything so students
  have current tools available to attacking
  problems.
• ?Students not only need to arrive at an answer,
  but also be able to distinguish between correct
  reasoning and incorrect reasoning on the way to
  an answer.
• ? In problems with numerical answers, can
  students competently carry out arithmetical
  steps? If a calculator is used, can a student
  judge the reasonableness of an answer?

21
Workplace Skills

• ? Basic workplace skills
• ? Money handling exchange of money, making
  change, income accounting, accounts receivable
  and payable
• ? High workplace skills
• ? Projections, problem solving, data analysis
• ? Fundamental concepts such as problem solving
  need to be learned in educational settings.
  Specifics to workplace, such as particular
  programs for specific work functions, would be
  trained on the job.
• ? Communication skills
• ? Verbal
• ? Written
• ? Algorithmic

22
Workplace Skills contd

• ?Working in groups, mathematical ideas need to be
  shared for understanding. This can take any or
  all of the above forms.
• ?Problem solving skills apply logic to problems
  in the workplace.
• ?Perseverance to find workable solutions.

23
Teacher Quality

• ? Needs
• ? More technology and technology support.
• ? Not broad, but specific, professional
  development.
• ? Better methodology for specific courses.
• ? More collaboration (with schools and outside
  schools).
• ? New teacher burnout is now 3 years, and they
  can get more money somewhere
• else (not in education).
• ? Having to pay for our own professional
  development when we already have to buy our own
  supplies/manipulatives.
• ? Alternative Program is not producing
  qualified teachers with their inexperience and
  is not helping education. They often create more
  work for qualified teachers.

24
Resources

• ? Professional Learning Communities (PLCs).
• ? Time and pay to make PLCs happen.
• ? Newspapers, media in the classroom.
• ? Technology bring the world to the students so
  they can critically examine it.
• ? Smart boards
• ? Projection
• ? TI Navigators
• ? Computer access for each student
• ? Document cameras for the classroom.
• ? We need more of them (resources)!
• ? Money allocated for more out-of-the-box items.

25
Resources contd

• ? Technology in EVERY classroom, including
  Internet.
• ? Specific training per grade-level on specific
  topics.
• ? CORE Academy! Needs to be funded! So
  valuable!
• ? Equity of materials.
• ? Include teachers in the decisions of what we
  need.

26
Resources contd

• ? Finances to purchase additional resources. All
  supplies in our classrooms are furnished by the
  teacher only!
• ? Math literature books - 1,000 of our own
  money to teach each concept and
• to get students interest.
• ? Investigations calculators, manipulatives
  (own teacher purchase).
• ? Problem solving manipulatives, centers.
• ? Lower class sizes in the secondary schools as
  well!

27
Assessment

• ? Problem solving needs to be applied to real
  authentic situations for students to solve. Life
  application lets them see the meaning of
  mathematics and helps transfer their knowledge.

28
Community and Home

• ? Students need
• ? The community needs to endorse mathematics
  education.
• ? Home endorsement.
• ? Parental resources.
• ? Parental encouragement for students to
  achieve more.
• ? To buy into a work ethic that includes
  working hard.
• ? Teachers need
• ? To communicate with parents.
• ? To reinforce the idea that students need to
  learn math.
• ? Keep home and community involved in what
  happens at school (positive calls and notes
  home).

29
Community and Home contd

• ? Transform the school from just a learning
  environment to a place to socialize and learn
  skills that interest them after school.
  Especially when parents are unable to be at home
  when students would leave for home (latchkey
  kids). Involve parents and others to assist.

30
Curriculum

• ? More attention to instructional proficiency and
  how the curriculum is adapted by teachers into
  their classroom instruction, i.e., pedagogy.
• ? A consistent curriculum is the basis for
  direction, but the art of teaching is the
  pedagogy, and that is where instructional
  improvements can happen.
• ? The order in which material is presented a
  teacher has to know where its going.
• ? It depends on where the students come in at.

31
Instruction

• ? Teacher development to keep the fundamentals of
  instruction viable and strong
• ? Math knowledge
• ? Pedagogy knowledge
• ? Application knowledge
• ? It would be ideal if mathematical concepts were
  presented from a variety of perspectives
  numerical, geometric, analytical, and connection
  with real world problems.

32
What's next?

• Math Steering Committee
• Math Master Planning Committee
• 3-Tier