Mathematics Curriculum Research for K-6 Students
An effective curriculum uses essential mathematical ideas in a way that students can understand how new concepts build on existing knowledge of concepts to learn to solve problems. Students must be taught a variety of concepts that are important to success in future grades without wasting their time. Curriculum issues discussed in this paper are (a) influence on mathematics content in the past 25 years, (b) development of mathematics curriculum, (c) mathematics that should be taught, and (d) problems with U.S. mathematics versus those of other countries (NCTM, 2009).
Influence on Mathematics Content
School administrators along with local school boards have previously had the most influence on the content of mathematics. Over the past 25 years concern has shifted to the state and national levels. Currently teachers and administration are publicly held accountable for the performance of students in their schools. States have implemented curriculum standards that are being met (Vogler & Burton, 2010). State-wide assessments are becoming increasingly more important to our country and there is a particular interest in the area of mathematics achievement (McGehee & Griffith, 2001).
Development of Mathematics Curriculum
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has recommended principles to aid in the development of unified curriculum standards and assessments for use across the nation. Several recommendations were made such as ensuring that teachers have an understanding of the curriculum content at the students’ previous learning level in order to build on those skills and incorporate new material. NCTM also suggests that a national curriculum must teach ideas and pr...
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Common core has been the program calling all the shots in most school systems in the United States. Since the year 2008, the common core standard testing has been sneaking its way into the school systems. The common core has brought up many different situations within the schools. One situation consists of determining the education level of students by using the same standardized test. Another situation is by requiring teachers to teach to a certain test, even though students do not fully learn what they are being taught. The government should not be able to evaluate students and teachers by one certain test. Attention must be brought up to how common core has changed our education system to the unproductive side, but then explain how our schooling systems can fix the problem that has been made. The common core can be fixed for the best, but the most fulfilling way to fix this problem is to get rid of the program altogether. The best results of students’ education can truly be viewed accurately once the common core is fully out of the school curriculum.
The second part of this memo contains a rhetorical analysis of a journal article written by Linda Darling-Hammond. Interview The following information was conducted in an interview with Diana Regalado De Santiago, who works at Montwood High School as a mathematics teacher. In the interview, Regalado De Santiago discusses how presenting material to her students in a manner where the student actually learns is a pivotal form of communication in the field (Personal Communication, September 8, 2016).
Education in the United States has changed over the last 60 years. It started with President Eisenhower making sure Brown v. Board of Education was enforced. Next, the National Defense Education Act in 1858 was passed to improve math and science. In 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act was passed to help the poor succeed in school. Finally, in 2002, President Bush signed into law the No Child left Behind Act (NCLB) (Robbins & Alvy, 2009, pg. 7). The NCLB change the way schools look at student achievement. One of the biggest changes was all teachers and schools are held accountable for student learning (Robbins & Alvy, 2009, pg. 7). Schools are now graded and labeled. Teachers and schools must close the achievement gap among the different groups of students (Robbins & Alvy, 2009, pg. 7). High-stakes tests measure schools, district, and student’s success (Robbins & Alvy, 2009, pg. 7). NCLB has made schools look at better ways to teach students. Schools have turned to using research based teaching practices. Schools are now using data to guide instruction. How does a school effectively assess students to increases student achievement? How does a school use this data to guide curriculum development? This paper will look at the importance of assessment in P-12 schools to improve student achievement. In this paper a critical analysis of backward design and its effect on student achievement. A critical analysis of fact-based practices that teacher can use now to improve student achievement will be discussed. Finally, a discussion of the challenges a teachers will face when creating a culture of learning.
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The data gained from standardised test can be used as evidence to compare mathematical achievement at a state, school or class level but could also be used to diagnose students’ strengths and weakness to refine teaching programs (Reys et al., 2012). Saubern (2010) maintains standardised tests provides teachers with relevant and useable feedback on student achievement and learning, but the timing of the tests and reporting schedule don’t always meet the classroom teacher’s need for timely and current knowledge. One of the main criticisms of standardised tests is they emphasise recalling facts and teachers encourage rote and superficial learning instead of thinking and problem solving skills (Black & Wiliam, 2010;Woolfolk & Margetts, 2010). Standardised tests do not require students to demonstrate their thinking, the grading function are overemphasized, while the giving of useful advice and the learning function are underemphasized (Black & Wiliam, 2010; Booker et a., 2010). Perso (2009) argues many Australian students may struggle to read and interpret questions on the NAPLAN numeracy test because they are not taught the literacy skills in their mathematics learning
Using literacy strategies in the mathematics classroom leads to successful students. “The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 1989) define mathematical literacy as an “individual's ability to explore, to conjecture, and to reason logically, as well as to use a variety of mathematical methods effectively to solve problems." Exploring, making conjectures, and being able to reason logically, all stem from the early roots of literacy. Authors Matthews and Rainer (2001) discusses how teachers have questioned the system of incorporating literacy with mathematics in the last couple of years. It started from the need to develop a specific framework, which combines both literacy and mathematics together. Research was conducted through
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With this promise came serious concerns over education taught students ranked 28th in the United States out of 40 other countries in Mathematics and Sciences. 80% of occupations depend on knowledge of Mathematics and Science (Week and Obama 2009). In order to ensure that educators have enough money to fund the endeavor to be more competitive with the rest of the world in Mathematics and Science, President Obama will increase federal spending in education with an additional 18 billion dollars in k-12 classrooms, guaranteeing educators have the teachers, technology, and professional development to attain highly quali...
As a secondary subject, society often views mathematics a critical subject for students to learn in order to be successful. Often times, mathematics serves as a gatekeeper for higher learning and certain specific careers. Since the times of Plato, “mathematics was virtually the first thing everyone has to learn…common to all arts, science, and forms of thought” (Stinson, 2004). Plato argued that all students should learn arithmetic; the advanced mathematics was reserved for those that would serve as the “philosopher guardians” of the city (Stinson, 2004). By the 1900s in the United States, mathematics found itself as a cornerstone of curriculum for students. National reports throughout the 20th Century solidified the importance of mathematics in the success of our nation and its students (Stinson, 2004). As a mathematics teacher, my role to educate all students in mathematics is an important one. My personal philosophy of mathematics education – including the optimal learning environment and best practices teaching strategies – motivates my teaching strategies in my personal classroom.
When I graduated from high school, forty years ago, I had no idea that mathematics would play such a large role in my future. Like most people learning mathematics, I continue to learn until it became too hard, which made me lose interest. Failure or near failure is one way to put a stop to learning a subject, and leave a lasting impression not worth repeating. Mathematics courses, being compulsory, are designed to cover topics. One by one, the topics need not be important or of immediate use, but altogether or cumulatively, the topics provide or point to a skill, a mastery of mathematics.