PowerPoint Presentation - National Advisory Committee on Math Education (NACOME)

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This resource was developed by CSMC faculty and
doctoral students with support from the National
Science Foundation under Grant No. ESI-0333879.
The opinions and information provided do not
necessarily reflect the views of the National
Science Foundation. 3-16-05
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Committees and Reports that Have Influenced the
Changing Mathematics Curriculum
This set of PowerPoint slides is one of a series
of resources produced by the Center for the Study
of Mathematics Curriculum. These materials are
provided to facilitate greater understanding of
mathematics curriculum change and permission is
granted for their educational use.
Overview and Analysis of School
Mathematics Grades K-12
National Advisory Committee on Mathematical
Education (NACOME) 1975

http//www.mathcurriculumcenter.org
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Issues and Forces

• Unprecedented change over the period 1950-1970
  in mathematics
• education
• Mounting criticism of the formalism and lack
  of applications in school mathematics programs
• Controversy over conflicting reports of
  student achievement
• Public perception that new math was a
  failure
• Emergence of a back-to-basics movement and a
  return to traditional direct instruction
  practices based on behavioral objectives
• Emergence of hand-held calculators
• Growing accessibility of computers
• Reduction in government funding for
  educational development and dissemination

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National Advisory Committeeon Mathematical
Education

• Shirley Hill, Chair, University of Missouri
• Robert Dilworth,California Institute of
  Technology
• James Gray, St. Marys University
• John Kelley, University of California
• Peggy Neal, Hilsman Middle School, GA
• Jack Price, San Diego City Schools, CA
• Rheta Rubenstein, Murray-Wright High School,
  MI
• James Fey, University of Maryland
• Truman Botts, CBMS

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Goals of NACOME

• Describe the predominant American patterns of
• mathematics curriculum content and instructional
• practice.
• Summarize what research says about the
• effectiveness of current programs.
• Make recommendations for research and
• development activities needed to meet challenges
• facing mathematics education.

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NACOME Report Chapters

• 1. Mathematics Curriculum Reform 1955-1975
• 2. Current Programs and Issues
• 3. Patterns of Instruction
• 4. Teacher Education
• 5. Evaluation
• 6. Recommendations and Perspectives

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NACOME Findings

• ? New math was not a monolithbut provided a
  range of programs and approaches.
• ? On standardized tests of student achievement,
  new math and traditional curricula groups
  performed at about the same level.
• ? New math was fundamentally sound and had
  lasting positive effects.
• ? New math failed to effectively change
  instructional methods.

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NACOME Policy RecommendationsOffered in Six Areas

• 1. Anti-Dichotomy
• 2. Quality Education
• 3. Curriculum Content
• 4. Teacher Education
• 5. Affective Domain
• 6. Evaluation

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Anti-Dichotomy

• Avoid false dichotomies. School mathematics
  programs should provide a balance among
• ? Old and new mathematics
• ? Skills and concepts
• ? Concrete and abstract
• ? Intuition and formalism
• ? Structure and problem solving
• ? Induction and deduction

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Quality EducationRecommendations included

• ? A comprehensive mathematics education must be
  available to all studentsregardless of gender,
  race, or national origin.
• ? Minimum skills should not become ceilings of
• performance.
• ? Mathematics teachers need to be able to select
• teaching styles and materials consistent with
  the
• needs of their students.
• ? Mathematics teachers should have the support of
  
• resource specialists in curriculum and
  instruction.

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Curriculum ContentRecommendations included

• ? Logical structure should be maintained as a
  framework for curriculum and instruction.
• ? Abstract ideas should be based on concrete
  experiences.
• ? By 8th grade, a calculator should be available
  for students in mathematics classes.
• ? More curricular attention be given to
• applications of mathematics
• effective utilization of technology
• implementation of the metric system
• inclusion of statistics and probability.

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Teacher EducationRecommendations included

• ? MAA and NCTM should develop a united position
  on requirements for pre-college teacher
  education.
• ? Teacher education should emphasize development
  of
• Reasoning and problem-solving abilities and
  methods to develop these abilities in students.
• Abilities to make informed curricular decisions
  and participate realistically and effectively in
  emerging trends.
• Skills in teaching effective use of calculators
  and computers.
• Appreciation of the uses and importance of
  mathematics and statistics in our world.

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Affective DomainRecommendations included

• ? Attitudes and beliefs of students/parents/commun
  ity about mathematics are important and should be
  considered in programmatic planning.
• ? Research should include the affective domain
  of mathematics.
• ? More appropriate and sensitive instruments to
  assess the affective domain should be developed.
• ? Action should be taken to dispel the notion
  that mathematics is more of a subject for males
  than females.

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EvaluationRecommendations included

• ? Tests and evaluation instruments should be
  aligned with the mathematics program goals.
• ? Grade-level student performance scores on
  standardized tests should be abandoned.
• ? More attention should be given to the
  development of objective-directed rather than
  norm referenced tests.
• ? Test development should minimize potential
  cultural bias.

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NACOME Recommendations for Research and
DevelopmentOffered in Three Areas

• 1. Needed Research
• 2. Needed Information
• 3. Needed Curriculum Development

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Needed ResearchAreas for research focus included

• ? Identification of characteristics of effective
  teaching
• ? Comparative studies of programs offering
  different curriculum organizations, methods, and
  materials
• ? Continuing research on development of attitude
  and motivation and their relationship to
  achievement
• ? Studies of the effects of computer and
  calculator use at all levels
• ? Evaluation of applications-oriented programs

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Needed Information

• ? Classroom practice
• ? Program requirements and practices of teacher
  preparation programs
• ? Needs for in-service education

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Needed Curriculum Development

• Curricular revision or reorganization and
  instructional materials to address
• ? Use and increasing significance of
  calculators and
• computers
• ? Increasing use of the metric system
• ? Integration of statistical ideas at all
  levels
• ? Computer literacy (at the junior high
  school) and
• computer science (at the high school)
• ? Development of process abilities such as
  problem
• solving and critical thinking
• ? A rethinking of geometry in the K-12
  mathematics
• program

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Significance of NACOME

• ? Affirmed new math was not a failure but was
  fundamentally sound and had lasting positive
  effects.
• ? Provided valuable suggestions/recommendations
  to improve the overall quality of school
  mathematics in terms of curricular content,
  pedagogy, and evaluation.
• ? Provided both a stimulus and direction for
  future documents, such as the Agenda for Action.
• ? Influenced funding priorities of federal
  agencies supporting research in mathematics
  education.

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References

• Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences.
  (1975). National Advisory Committee on Math
  Education Overview and analysis of school
  mathematics grades K-12.
• Hill, S. (1976). Issues from the NACOME Report.
  Mathematics Teacher, 69(6), 440-446.
• Kline, M. (1976). NACOME Implications for
  curriculum design. Mathematics Teacher, 69(6),
  449-457.
• Taylor, R. (1976). NACOME Implications for
  teaching K-12. Mathematics Teacher, 69(6),
  458-463.