Math Teachers to Introduce New Methods
By Ashley Meeks, Las Cruces Sun-News, N.M.
Oct. 18–LAS CRUCES — It’s not new math, just a new way of teaching it.
A parents’ forum tonight will center on the Las Cruces Public Schools new math methodology — Investigations Mathematics, for elementary students, and Connected Mathematics, both published by Pearson.
Though Las Cruces is using the second edition of the series, some parents were concerned about the first editions. Among other incidents, in 1999, a group of Plano, Texas, parents sued the local school district, claiming the curriculum was dumbed down.
Elizabeth Marrufo, director of elementary instruction and a former principal of Sunrise Elementary School, said the second edition, the one new to Las Cruces, “went through a complete transformation, which took into account a lot of the earlier criticisms.”
She would know — Sunrise used the first edition when she headed it. She said this one “goes deeper.”
The first edition “was page after page after page of computation,” she recalled. Even teachers were turned off — “they felt the need for students to go higher and deeper.”
In contrast with “rote and constant repetition,” the second edition is more concerned with reasoning: The meaning of fractions, examining 2-D and 3-D shapes and measuring change over time.
“You can solve eight plus eight computationally, but what does that mean in your mind?” Marrufo said. The second edition prods students to think of representing such a problem as two multiplied by eight, or four multiplied by four. “It is definitely not dumbed down. It is infused with teachers’ practical suggestions and strategies based on field testing.”
Computation is still a key skill, she said, but “the rote and constant repetition” is not emphasized as much as problem-solving skills.
LCPS Superintendent Stan Rounds said the new program was determined to be the best materials by teachers.
“Our curriculum standards are still the same curriculum standards,” he said. “A particular book or program doesn’t necessarily dictate what is our instructional program. That’s pretty well defined by state standards … I think the question here is in methodology.”
And the new math program, adopted last year, aligns with the state benchmarks and prepares them for standardized testing, Marrufo noted.
“The curriculum poses problems that require children to think deeply about the mathematics involved,” she said. “They’re using reasoning to arrive at a response and the process, how they arrive at their response is greatly valued, rather than just regurgitating computational facts.”
Tonight’s forum will focus on numbers and operations, one of five mathematical standards tested through No Child Left Behind. In November, a second forum will focus on another standard, algebra. Spring forums will discuss geometry, measurement data and probability.
As of Wednesday afternoon, around 60 parents had responded to fliers sent home from school and signed up — activity space has been planned for 100, so forum registration is still open. Marrufo says the district is prepared to hold a second evening of forums if demand is higher than expected.
IF YOU GO
What: Parents’ math forum
When: 6 to 7:30 p.m. today
Where: East Picacho Elementary, 4450 N. Highway 85
To register, call 527-6054 or 527-5859
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