What should we make of the new Common Core Math Standards? Will they benefit our children in the long run? The changes to curriculum and course offerings are causing a lot of consternation and concern for parents who don’t really know what to expect.

One good thing about the Common Core is that is forcing a reevaluation of what math we teach and who we teach it. After reviewing the standards carefully, I believe the Common Core is a move in the right direction. I also see it as an opportunity for to fix what’s been wrong with mathematics education for quite some time. Of course, with that opportunity, there will be numerous challenges.

The Good

The Common Core standards do two very important, positive things (beyond providing consistent standards across the country – with the exception of a five states who have yet to adopt the standards).

In my opinion, the biggest win is the enumeration of the “Standards of Mathematical Practice”. They provide a framework for how mathematics should be learned and the behaviors that we should look for in students independent of their skill in any one particular content area. Honestly, if teachers simply focus on these, I believe mathematics education can improve by leaps and bounds. My only minor quibble is I think it could have been simplified to just the first three:
1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively
3. Model with mathematics (apply math to solve problems arising in daily life)

Secondly, the standards cover fewer mathematical concepts in each grade and they require students to demonstrate a much deeper understanding of each concept. The biggest problem with the old standards was that they were a “mile wide and an inch deep”. Common Core is an excellent first step in fixing that issue. With the old standards, many teachers were forced to rush through topics and many students survived by just memorizing facts and algorithms without making the connections needed to truly be successful in mathematics. Now, our children will have the opportunity to develop much better number sense and understanding of how math works.

The Challenge that Lies Ahead

Implementation of the standards will be the key. How will we train teachers to implement these new standards? In elementary school, especially, this will require teachers to develop a much deeper understanding of mathematics. The unfortunate truth is an alarming number of elementary teachers lack a deep enough understanding of math to pull off teaching to the new standards. Teachers also need to allow students to have their own mathematical discussions which can sometimes be scary when you aren’t confident in your own math knowledge.

For gifted students, it remains to be seen how teachers and schools will support their need to be challenged.

The Impact on Math Plus Academy’s Curriculum

For Math Plus Academy, the Common Core Standards serve as an affirmation of our philosophy from day one to focus on core mathematical content and help students develop and understanding of math and not just teach them to memorize facts and algorithms. I believe the Standards for Mathematical Practice are very well aligned with the mathematical culture that we’ve always tried to foster.

At the end of each year, our teachers and curriculum development team sit down to review each and every lesson. We replace the least effective lessons, re-order the lessons in the most meaningful way, and incorporate new ideas and techniques. We are always on the lookout for better ways to teach math, better ways to explain how things work, and more effective ways to ensure each student learns to think. This year will be no different as we make any adjustments needed to stay at least one step ahead.

For over a hundred years, our education system has focused on imparting knowledge to students. This made sense in an age where the teacher was the “smartest” person in the room. But today, kids have access to virtually any fact they need instantaneously via computer, smart phone, or tablet connected to the internet.

With today’s technology, everyone has access to the same information. So, what will make you stand out from the crowd isn’t what you know, but whether or not you can apply it. Can you use facts to create logical arguments? Can you connect ideas together to form new solutions? Can you analyze complex data to develop new understandings?

As educators, it’s our responsibility to change what we’ve been doing and give kids opportunities to practice applying what they know. At Math Plus Academy, that’s exactly what our “Brain Builder” programs are designed to do.

Our Brain Builder Courses Develop Real-World Skills

In our Brain Builder programs, students create their own computer programs, build and experiment with LEGO robots that accomplish real-world tasks, and develop students’ critical thinking skills through chess and Math Olympiads.

All of our Brain Builder courses offer hands-on, minds-on experiences that go beyond just learning facts and allow kids to apply what they know to the world around them.
Brain Builders include LEGO engineering, LEGO robotics, Computer Programming, Chess, and Math Olympiads.
Each of these courses have several benefits including:

• Improving real world problem solving and critical thinking skills
• Developing teamwork and social skills as kids work in groups to solve problems.
• Building confidence when kids see their ideas come to life.

Not to mention, they are just plain fun!

Check out our Brain Builder Offerings this Spring

This spring we are offering introductory LEGO robotics and computer programming classes as well as chess club. You can see the details here

Give us a call at 614-792-6284 and we will be happy to help you find the best experiences for your child’s interests and long-term success.

I watched the presidential election results on Tuesday glued to the edge of my seat eagerly anticipating the results in each state. As the night went on, I couldn’t help but view the election through the lens of a mathematician.

The Power of the Statistics

The power of statistical analysis that allows the news outlets to “call” states in favor of one candidate or another well before all of the votes have been counted. NBC News showed some excellent graphics of Ohio, county by county. Statisticians use all the available information to predict the outcome as soon as possible. And it is amazing to see how accurate they are.

Speaking of statisticians, Nate Silver of the New York Times, has become a star based on his predictions of the presidential election. He combined numerous polls from each state and created a predictive model that gave the odds of Obama winning prior to the election at 91%, despite the fact that most people thought the election would be a toss-up. The main reason his model could be so confident is that with the electoral college, all a candidate needs is a small lead in the battleground states to tilt the scales in their favor. In this case, Obama seemed to have a small lead in most of the states that mattered. Read more about Nate Silver here.

The Obama Team’s Superior Data Crunching Ability

The news media mentioned several times how Obama’s team had done an excellent job getting out the vote amongst the voters that would be more likely to vote for him. Turns out, they have a team of data crunchers that analyzes every bit of information they have to optimize everything from campaign fundraisers to advertising.

It’s clear that the ability to analyze and draw conclusions from large datasets is becoming more and more valuable. These are precisely the skills one gets from the study of mathematics. In fact, Money magazine just compiled a list of the best new jobs in America. Not surprisingly, most of them require expertise in math.

One of the jobs they listed is IT Data Scientist. “Tech firms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are at the heart of the big data movement. Their users are generating loads of information by the second. Turning those heaps of data into business value falls to data scientists, who apply various tools and methods to find meaningful patterns and insights in large data sets.”

“An affinity for numbers is key, as well as a command of computing, statistics, math and analytics. One can’t underestimate the importance of soft skills either. Data scientists work closely with management and need to express themselves clearly.”

This election year, it’s clear that the biggest winner of all is… mathematics.