Transcript of episode 2: Math matters

Over the past few years, the Kelso School District has adopted rigorous new standards around math instruction. In this episode of the podcast, Mark Connolly, director of elementary education, and Mary Beth Tack, director of secondary education discuss the district's many strategies for improving math instruction.

Many parents probably remember learning math through memorization and drills. How does math instruction in Kelso today differ from those earlier models?

Mark Connolly: Math instructors in Kelso School District still value and teach the basic math facts. In today’s global economy, however, it is important that our students not only know their facts, but that they understand the mathematics behind them. This deeper level of understanding leads to higher-level thinking and application of math concepts. In order to meet this type of demand, our teachers are teaching students the basic concepts at a concrete level and then expanding that learning to an abstract level. This type of rigor begins in Kindergarten and extends through the advanced math courses offered at the high school. Math instruction in Kelso should involve active and meaningful learning opportunities for all students. Our aim is that students are able to construct their own application of math strategies with relevant, real world problems. This requires deep understanding of the basic concepts and the math that supports them.

The new math standards in Kelso emphasize teacher training and collaboration. How do these activities improve instruction?

Mark Connolly: Providing training for teachers is an investment in student learning. In Kelso, we pride ourselves on providing relevant training opportunities for our staff. When the state adopted the new math standards, we viewed that as a critical time for training. Not only did a team of our teachers receive training at the state level to become trainers in the new math standards, but that team also provided training to every math teacher in the Kelso School District. This investment in our teachers has developed greater understanding and application of the state math standards.

We also have invested in training in our instructional assistants, so that they are more familiar with the standards and can develop instructional methodology that will support student learning. Providing learning opportunities for staff members improves their skills and improves student learning.

If you think of the math standards as a road map toward the destination of student learning in mathematics, you can understand how critical it is that everyone on the journey has a deep understanding of the map. Our staff has increased their levels of collaboration in order to get our students to the learning destination. It is amazing to see how differently we can look at the same road map! Each teacher brings unique experiences and ideas to the team that will make the journey more memorable and purposeful.

This theme of sharing ideas and collaborating is changing the way that we do business in schools. Our teachers have applied techniques learned through Powerful Teaching and Learning training. Each building has been developing Professional Learning Communities that further promote collaboration.

Additionally, each school has been participating in the Regional Math Initiative, which is a very targeted approach to seeing that the math standards are being presented with meaningful and collaborative instruction.

Teachers are being encouraged to share their ideas, expertise, challenges and successes with one another, so that together they can continue to grow and support one another through the journey of learning. In learning and working together, teachers are forming professional leaning communities that support student learning.

What can parents do to help their children be successful in math?

Mary Beth Tack: Families have a major influence on children’s achievement in school and through life. When schools and families work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school and enjoy school more. There are several ways in which parents can help their children be successful in the area of math.

Here are some of our top suggestions:

Visit your child’s school — from Kindergarten to graduation.

Set high standards for your child in math. Encourage his or her interest and pursuit of math. Make sure your child is mathematically challenged and takes challenging coursework.

Help your child see that math is very much a part of everyday life — from statistics in sports to the sale price of clothing, from the calories in food to the amount of gas needed to travel from one city to another. Math is important to us every day. Help your child make these connections to math.

Point out that many jobs require math — from the scientist to the doctor, from the plant manager to the newspaper salesman, from the computer programmer to the hardware store owner. Many jobs require a strong foundation in math. Help your child see that math leads to many exciting career opportunities.

Stimulate your child’s interest in technology. Encourage your child to use calculators and computers for further learning.

Play games that help your child develop decision-making and mental math skills. There are many games sold commercially, such as board games that involve patterns and probability. Games require children to use strategies to make decisions, solve problems, and develop an understanding about numbers and how to use them (number sense) and computational skills.

Finally and probably most importantly: Positive attitudes about math will reinforce encouragement. Parents’ feelings will have an impact on how your children think about math and themselves as mathematicians. Positive attitudes about math are important in encouraging your children to think mathematically.

The district has decided to put a hold on new textbook adoption for K-12 math because of the ongoing economic crisis. How will this impact the implementation of the new math standards?

Mary Beth Tack: The overarching goal of teaching math is to help every student develop mathematical power. This is accomplished through the knowing and teaching the new math standards.

Regardless of whether we would or would not have been able to adopt new textbooks, our number one focus is the new math standards. One distinction to highlight is that the math textbook is not the curriculum. The new math standards approved from our state board of education constitute our math curriculum. Instructional materials such as textbooks help deliver those standards to our Kelso students.

In Kelso School District, the single most important influence on student achievement is quality teaching. Though we are disappointed with the inability to proceed with a math adoption, we hold true to the research that indicates quality teaching centered around quality standards will have the greatest impact on student achievement.

That said, our 5-year math strategic plan for the district outlines the goal for the development of a scope-and-sequence for all grades aligned with our new state standards. This work will challenge us all — teachers and administrators — in deeply knowing the standards. This is a good thing! We will need to look at our current textbooks and see what aligns well and what holes we have. From there we will create materials that give teachers and ultimately students access to all state math standards.

This is exciting work that begins in this next month in May.

What are some of the innovative activities and methods you have seen used in Kelso to engage students in math?

Mark Connolly: Each of our principals could provide several examples of innovative methods, strategies or activities that they could cite as meaningful instruction that engages students in math. As I said earlier, we promote active, meaningful learning in our schools, and we are working hard to attain success in teaching and learning math that is rigorous and relevant.

In this era, it is impossible to reflect on math instruction without mentioning the amazing and engaging activities that teachers are applying through the use of technology. I can think of one teacher who uses podcast recordings of himself that he plays for his class. This enables him to physically walk around the room checking for understanding while the lesson is being presented. Another example that I can think of is the use of smart boards in several of our classrooms. Students “click in” their responses to questions, and they demonstrate their thinking and share their strategies through this tool. Teachers are using blogs, which promote student writing around math concepts. There are several creative uses of technology that engage students and are extremely innovative.

In addition to those strategies, our teachers utilize the strategies acquired through Powerful Teaching and Learning. They are promoting conversations between students within their math class. This is different than the traditional instruction that many adults received, but the benefit is that students share their thinking and expand their ideas through sharing in meaningful dialogue.

Not too long ago, I visited a first-grade classroom where the students were identifying patterns and making predictions using a calendar. This is part of the number corners component in our elementary schools. When given the task of identifying as many patterns as they could independently, the most I saw on a page was four. They were then asked to form learning groups of three students and share their thinking. It was amazing to see that one student’s idea could spark the thinking in another student. In just a few minutes, one group had identified 18 patterns. Having identified such a high number of patterns, that group was able to accurately and confidently predict the pattern for the remaining days of the month. It is this kind of engaging and intentional instruction that is making the difference for our students.

Our teachers are becoming more comfortable with the new standards that promote depth over breadth, and as a result, the learning that is occurring in our classrooms is reflecting that focus. With a combination of intentional and innovative instructional strategies, our teachers are delivering quality math instruction that engages students in learning.

We are proud of the efforts that principals, teachers and instructional assistants have made to improve student learning in the area of mathematics. With the on-going support of our school board, superintendent and parents, this important work can continue in our schools.