The "math wars" continue, this time in Connecticut:
In one [content area] however, Simsbury shares dismal scores with most of the state. Strand 25, known as Integrated Understandings: Mathematical Applications, is consistently the lowest-scoring strand for a large percentage of the state's public schools. In fact, only 17 percent of eighth grade students tested in 2004 achieved mastery level. In Simsbury, that number has fluctuated between 26 and 32 percent since 2000.So, while Simsbury students are among the state's best when it comes to arithmetic and mathematical operations, they're floundering when applying those skills and demonstrating understanding.
In part to improve those scores, the Simsbury school system has implemented a new math curriculum that eschews traditional teaching methods in favor of a discovery-based program. Rather than simply memorizing facts, formulas and specific operations, students will acquire a working knowledge of math. By deconstructing how a concept works, students will learn to think mathematically.
That program would be Investigations in Number, Data and Space. From the website:
Activity-based investigations encourage students to think creatively, develop their own problem-solving strategies, and work cooperatively. Students write, draw, and talk about math as well as use manipulatives, calculators, and computers.
In other words, "Wheee! What's important is that we make math fun and that we make sure no one gets to sit alone and work on those hard problems by themselves!"
Some parents are, as am I, underwhelmed by this program:
Some Simsbury parents have taken issue with the new program. They say it has lowered grade-level expectations and that there is a decreased emphasis on fundamentals, such as multiplication tables, long division and fractions. Research can be found both supporting and refuting those claims.
A parent-formed website opposing the program can be found here. They link to Mathematically Correct and Bas Braam's collections of the content reviews for this program. Many of the reviews, such as this one for the fifth-grade component, are quite scary:
This program does not teach the standard algorithm for multiplication. If students already know this algorithm, they will still be required to develop other strategies. If they do not know the standard algorithm, the text does not direct them to learn it...In summary, the instruction in multiplication of whole numbers is not learned from a text and thus is highly dependent upon teacher supervision. While the objective is to get students to devise methods that make sense to them, there is little regularity to any particular approach. The number of practice items is very limited, as is the level of difficulty of the products...
This program received the lowest rating of Mathematical Depth of the fifth-grade programs in this review. The strongest presentation it offers is in the case of multiplication and division of whole numbers. However, these suffer from several drawbacks. The instruction is not learned from a text and is thus highly dependent upon teacher direction. At the same time, the emphasis on having students to devise their own methods leaves open the possibility that the students will not achieve any regular and reliable approaches...
Given the recent Praxis flap, and the fact that education schools are apparently turning out graduates who are lost without calculators, who wouldn't be worried to learn that this new program depends heavily on the teacher's understanding of math?
(Hat tip: NYC Hold.)
Posted by kswygert at June 28, 2005 09:51 AM