Park Schools Beliefs about Children and Mathematics

The 21st century is upon us. Mathematics students of today need to be able to ask
questions test out rules and communicate ideas. They need to kno! more than
arithmetic" they need to understand mathematical concepts and to be able to think
throu#h a problem and sol$e it. They need to kno! more than sets of rules" they need to
%nd out !hat happens !hen you chan#e the rules. They need to be able to ask and try
to ans!er those &!hat if' questions. (e$elopin# computational skills and de$elopin#
understandin# are sometimes seen as competin# for attention. This is not the case at
Park. )e belie$e that understandin# makes it easier to learn skills and learnin# skills can
stren#then and help de$elop mathematical understandin#.
)e belie$e that all children can be successful math students. )e !ant to dispel the
myth that only certain people ha$e &math brains' and that only those people can be
successful at mathematics.
*ur pro#ram stri$es to emphasi+e problem sol$in# reasonin# makin# connections and
communicatin# increasin#ly more sophisticated ideas as students pro#ress throu#h the
curriculum. The ,n$esti#ations curriculum !as chosen not only for its stron#
mathematical content but because it pro$ides materials for professional de$elopment
and support for teachers continued learnin# as they use the curriculum o$er se$eral
years. The materials are desi#ned to be a dialo#ue !ith teachers. -o other curriculum
pro$ides this. Teachers use the curriculum to maintain a clear focused and coherent
a#enda for mathematics teachin#. .t the same time they obser$e listen carefully to
students #i$e assessments try to understand ho! students are thinkin# and make
teachin# decisions based on these obser$ations. The concepts tau#ht in the
,n$esti#ations curriculum are thorou#h and pro$ide acti$ities that require students to
think deeply about mathematics. Park chose a curriculum that is clear complete
connected and cohesi$e and that e/pects a ri#orous understandin# of mathematical
ideas. The ri#or and challen#e lies in bein# asked to do more than memori+e steps and
procedures.
Park Schools 0/pectations for Mathematics in 1rade 234
*We expect children to understand mathematical ideas and concepts
Understanding refers to a students grasp of fundamental mathematical ideas. Students
with understanding know MORE than isolated facts and procedures. They know why a
mathematical idea is important and the contets in which it is useful. !urthermore" they
are aware of many connections #etween mathematical ideas. $n fact" the degree of the
students understanding is related to the richness and etent of the connections they
ha%e made&
2ilpatric and S!a5ord 2662 7elpin# Children 8earn Mathematics. )ashin#ton (.C.9
-ational .cademy Press
*We expect children to compute with fuency.
Fluency means that students can use number pairs accurately e:ciently and ;e/ibly as
they sol$e problems. (e$elopin# ;uency requires a balance and connection bet!een
conceptual understandin# and computational pro%ciency. *n the one hand
computational methods that are o$er3practiced !ithout understandin# are often for#otten
or remembered incorrectly. *n the other hand understandin# !ithout ;uency can inhibit
the problem3sol$in# process
Students become ;uent in sol$in# computation problems. <luency includes three ideas9
e:ciency accuracy and ;e/ibility.
efciency: This means that the student does not #et bo##ed do!n in too many steps.
.n e:cient strate#y is one that the student can carry out easily keepin# track of
subproblems and makin# use of intermediate results to sol$e the problem
accuracy: This depends on careful recordin# kno!led#e of number facts and other
important number relationships and double checkin# results.
fexibility: This requires the kno!led#e of more than one approach to sol$in# a
particular kind of problem. Students need to be ;e/ible in order to choose an appropriate
strate#y for the problem at hand and then be able to use another method to double
check the results.
.
* We expect our students to be mathematically powerful.
Mathematically po!erful children9
=de$elop meanin# for numbers and operations
=look for relationships amon# numbers and operations
=understand computational strate#ies and use them e:ciently accurately and ;e/ibly
=can make sense of numerical and quantitati$e situations
=can communicate their ideas clearly concisely and completely
*We expect our students to experience and understand the breadth and depth
of mathematics
The study of mathematics must include #eometry data analysis al#ebraic thinkin#
problem sol$in# and communication not >ust computation. Students must ha$e a
comprehensi$e and complete foundation in all areas of mathematics.
)e do not look at math as a hierarchical set of skills. )e look at math as a broad and
deep set of skills that in$ol$e thinkin# and understandin#. Teachers !ork to en#a#e all
learners. Children !ho may already ha$e a stron# understandin# of sin#le di#it addition
can be asked to look at some #enerali+ations about addition concepts. <or e/ample does
the order of numbers in an addition equation matter? 7o! do you kno!? )hy is that
true? ,s that true for .88 addition equations? Can you pro$e it? Can you use a model
numbers or !ords to sho! this is true? ,t true !e could >ust tell kids a rule @,n an
addition equation the order of the numbers does not matter.@ )e could ha$e them !rite
the rule on a test. But that isnAt enou#h that isnAt ri#orous. These kinds of questions this
kind of thinkin# is deep thinkin# and pro$ides students !ith !ays to en#a#e in the
material that is interestin# and allo!s them to apply !hat they kno! and understand.
@Computational pro%ciency is a tool used in the ser$ice of deeper mathematics.@ Cathy
Seely past president -CTM. The #oal can not be only computational ;uency our kids
and students need more. Challen#e has to be seen in the conte/t of the depth of a
childAs understandin# and his or her abillity to communicate that understandin#. )e
!ant kids kno!in# and usin# mathematics not >ust doin# hard arithmetic. Math is more
than procedures and more than calculations.
BC*T0 <D*M E*C-1 M.T70M.T,C,.-S .T )*D2
@.l#orithms !ere de$eloped in the Middle .#es by the .rab mathematician al32h!ari+mi.
The use of al#orithms brou#ht about a democriti+ation of computation" people !ere no
lon#er reliant on the select fe! !ho !ere competent users of the abacus. )hen
al#orithms appeared political tension occurred bet!een those !ho !anted to hold on to
the abacus and those !ho !anted to learn the ne! methods. ,nteresti#ly a similar
political situation e/ists today. .s schools ha$e be#un to reform thier teachin# as
al#orithms ha$e been replaced !ith mental math strate#ies and calculatin# !ith number
sense ar#uments ha$e occurred bet!een those !ho %#ht to maintain the @old@ math
and those !ho fa$or reform. Many articles ha$e appeared in ne!spapers that play into
fears that children !ill not be able to compute. These fears are based on uninformed
often mistaken notions of the reform. Parents are products of the old education and
therefore they de%ne mathematics as the skills they !ere tau#ht. )hen they donAt see
their children learnin# !hat they belie$e to be the #oals of mathematics33the
al#orithms33they assume that nothin# is bein# learned.@ 2athy <osnot