In this video math education professor Jo Boaler discusses the benefits of Common Core Math. She begins by explaining that "there is no such thing as a math gene". However many students in the US fail math because of the way it has been taught. Boaler asserts that math needs to become a "learning subject, not a preforming subject". Thus we need to eliminate the time tested and drill and kill homework worksheets. Common Core math is focused around students completing performance tasks that give them the space to deeply learn the mathematical concepts. I completely agree that students need to be taught to analyse problems and think critically instead of learning how to mimic the teacher's steps to solving problems. We no longer need people to be able to quickly do calculations in their head, we have computer for that. What our society is in short supply of is critical thinkers who can find creative ways to solve any type of problem. I think that Common Core curriculum not only teaches students to effectively solve math problems, but also trains their brains to solve any problem that will materialize in their lives. I think that if teachers implemented more open ended, high ceiling/ low floor task into their classes we would see an increase in math test scores and a decrease in math anxiety. Boaler explains that with these types of tasks, every student has the ability to begin the problem (low floor). Then the more advanced students have the opportunity to run with the problem as much as they like (high ceiling). I really like these types of open ended problems but struggle to find ones that align with the standards that I am teaching. One of my goals is to either find or create more of these types of math problems and use them frequently in my class. I am already using a Common Core curriculum, where students investigate concepts and skills necessary to solve real world problems. I think open ended tasks would be great to use at the end of each investigation to see how much students have learned about the mathematical concepts and about problem solving.
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AuthorMy name is Brooke and I am a teacher candidate in the CSUSM credential program. I am currently long-term subbing Integrated Math 1 and Math 180 classes at Vista High. Archives
May 2015
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