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Many states now have specific certifications for P-6 math "coaches" or specialists who come into the elementary schools and help the teachers with the subject. This phenomenon is not new, but it is a problem. A big issue is that colleges don't require enough math courses for primary educators, and many folks choose primary education certification because math is a weak point for them.
No, not all of them. Maybe the school you're referencing. But my friend took her kids out of Catholic school because they were behind the public school kids in elementary school math. And Catholic schools are among the better of the private schools.
Agree. I am now teaching at a Catholic school after several years in public school where Algebra 1 has been the focus of curriculum revisions, state tests, etc. I really feel that the need to revamp math classes in basically 6th grade on up has been a good thing. Am I condoning state tests in math? No - but the undertaking of revising curriculum, etc. that it has caused is IMO a good thing. Nothing should stay exactly the same for decades.
The school where I am working now, has not gotten a new Algebra 1 textbook since the early 90s. Sure, algebra doesn't change, but the approach to it does, as have the students, and you cannot teach it the same way you did 20 years ago. I was shocked to learn their curriculum does not cover systems of equations in Alg. 1, which is definitely covered in public schools on the state tests.
The lack of oversight at the Catholic schools IMO has allowed the curriculum to be stagnant and not change with the times as it should have.
Many states now have specific certifications for P-6 math "coaches" or specialists who come into the elementary schools and help the teachers with the subject. This phenomenon is not new, but it is a problem. A big issue is that colleges don't require enough math courses for primary educators, and many folks choose primary education certification because math is a weak point for them.
IME the coaches don't teach the teachers math, they help with instructional methods and analyze assessment data.
What's interesting is that while many find it to be a pity that people utilize tech for basic math functions, comparatively few seem to think it's a pity when people rely on autocorrect, spellcheck, and predictive type programs and applications rather than actually internalize basic spelling and use those skills when writing. Yet, people go blissfully along their way, without the faintest idea that they've sent out even professional-level communications full of errors, created business signage with glaring misspellings, etc.
TabulaRasa,
I agree with you and I trace my own issues with spelling directly back to a "new" method of teaching during the early 50's when they scrapped phonetics. For about 2 or 3 years we were taught to memorize how to pronounce and spell a word. Within a few years they switched back to sounding out new words- but, by then my young brain was "trained" to hear and memorize new words.
I am all for embracing technological changes be it spell check or using a calculator, but, not at the elementary level. Elementary school should be where they train your brain in the basics so you can function without technology when necessary.
" “I’ve got some mathematically brilliant teacher candidates, but I’m also working with some who don’t know how to multiply or divide,” noted professor Mary Reid of U of T’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). "
How does one graduate from college--much less high school--without knowing how to multiply or divide? I don't get it.
This is by far the simplest explanation, especially for a teacher who is not proficient in number sense.
(Mary has read 120 pages of a novel, which is 40 per cent of the book. How many pages does she have left to read?)
I did like the "no algebra required" version of the bar graphs too. It's a little harder to follow though without having moving pieces like he had.
You don't need anything special, just use Legos, the bigger ones. They can be stacked and combined. They have different colors. Use washable marker to write numbers on them. Moving them around on the kitchen table makes you feel like a military commander.
Originally Posted by Dogwood Porter Common Core math is essentially Singapore Math. In fact, that's the main thing you see dimwit parents complaining about in every anti Common Core article on the internet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Good at Math
Are you sure? Please explain.
I am using the Singapore Math homeschool curriculum after school with my kids.
If you go read the Common Core math standards, (Mathematics Standards | Common Core State Standards Initiative), the standards are extremely similar to if not exactly the same as what Singapore Math teaches. Early algebraic thinking, heavier focus on word problems and mental math, multiple ways to solve a problem, teaching understanding instead of rote memorization, etc. Singapore Math and Common Core math cover the same topics, but at slightly different pacing. SM does in Kindy what CC does in Kindy and 1st, SM does in 1st what CC does in 2nd. But SM slows down a little bit and spends more time on Multiplication / Division / Fractions, so that by 4th grade it's about even. Then SM speeds up again in 5th and 6th, covering in 2 years what CC covers in 3 years, so that SM students are ready to start the algebra sequence by 7th grade.
HOWEVER, the actual Singapore Math curriculum is FAR SUPERIOR to the various curriculums I've seen here in the states that are attempting to implement Common Core. They try to teach the same things, but SM teaches it beautifully and succinctly in a way that's easy to understand, and US curriculums completely butcher it. When I see my daughter's Everyday Math work sheets, I can see what they're *trying* to do, but it's like reading an essay written by a 1st grader, it's just very immature. I haven't seen bar graphs yet from Everyday Math, but I have seen lots of word problems that look like they were written with the intention of trying to use a bar graph, if only someone here knew how to teach them lol.
But the real magic in Singapore Math is the teachers and the parents. According to what I've read, in Singapore the teachers are brilliant mathematicians, with extensive training in teaching little kids. And the parents are involved, supportive, engaged, and place a high priority on their child's schoolwork. And they routinely pay for afterschool math classes for their kids, behind or ahead, so that they have even more exposure to math. The kids spend at least twice as much time in math instruction there as they do here, if not more. You get good at what you practice.
Last edited by pkbab5; 05-19-2016 at 08:54 AM..
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