State considers new approach to teaching math

<p>Georgia education officials are considering a new approach to teaching math that would combine concepts from courses in algebra, geometry and trigonometry.</p><p>If adopted, the new curriculum would require students to understand more complicated concepts at younger ages, a shift that would begin as early as kindergarten. It is part of an extensive rewrite of teaching standards in Georgia.</p><p>The new approach is being hailed by many academics as an ambitious attempt to correct a problem that has persisted for years: teaching that focuses on mechanics but has been lacking in deeper understanding.</p><p>By the end of eighth grade, students will be expected to know most of geometry and algebra _ subjects now taught mainly in high school. The integrated math planned for high school is unusual in the United States but common in Japan, a country where students routinely score near the top on international exams.</p><p>If approved by the state Board of Education this week, the changes would be introduced over several years.</p><p>Georgia officials, who hope to replicate the Japan's success, acknowledge that math competency of Georgia students remains low. A national assessment last year found that 41 percent of Georgia eighth-graders were below basic proficiency in math and fourth and eighth-graders both were below national averages.</p><p>Current methods of teaching math are "not working," said Carolyn Baldree, the state's math curriculum coordinator.</p><p>"It is very embarrassing," Baldree said. "When we look at the number of young people going into mathematics, it's very, very low. We need to address that. We can't keep putting our heads in the sand."</p><p>The new curriculum calls for teachers to move through classroom material more quickly and cut down on rehashing information that has already been covered.</p><p>Once the plan is in place, students will see the beginnings of abstract math as early as kindergarten. Five-year-olds will still learn traditional material like basic shapes and numbers. But they also will be expected to develop a sense of patterns and sorting, the foundation for analytical thinking. For example, a teacher might position two beans next to four beans and then ask students what comes next.</p><p>By the end of eighth grade, students will have covered enough algebra and geometry to choose among three paths in high school, all meeting college admission standards.</p><p>But some teachers are worried they may not be prepared for the new approach.</p><p>"All of the math teachers we have now have been taught pretty much the way we are teaching," said Pam Poppe, who is instructing students in advanced math this summer at Grayson High School in Loganville. Changing the curriculum "will require tremendous amounts of staff development for teachers."</p><p>The first courses to prepare teachers will begin this summer with sessions on geometry for sixth-grade teachers. The state plans eight days of training for all teachers on the new curriculum. But much of the math training will be delegated to individual school systems, using money from undetermined sources.</p><p>The training will be important because teachers must feel comfortable introducing the material, said Tom Ottinger, president of the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics.</p><p>"Teachers aren't really prepared for it, and that does concern me," said Ottinger, who taught high school math in Ellijay for 32 years before becoming a college professor.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x2865384)</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/7/165633