The U.S. math curriculum has been criticized because it is too broad and scattered. Thus, the Common Core places an emphasis on fewer topics but delves deeper into each. The common core math standards are based on three principles: 1) evidence-based, 2) rigorous contents and skills, and 3) aligned with college and work expectations.
Common core places many new expectations on students at an early age. Students should be able to show strong evidence in order to support their answers. This helps students develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. Making conjectures about form, as well as the meaning of the solution are required, rather than simply jumping into a solution attempt. Students should check their answers to problems using a different method, and they continually ask themselves, “Does this make sense?” For example, students in 3rd grade will be asked this kind of question: Recognize and generate simple equivalent fractions, e.g., 1/2 = 2/4; 4/6 = 2/3. Explain why the fractions are equivalent. The students need to provide their answer with supporting evidence such as using a visual fraction model.
The new curriculum contains rigorous contents and math skills. The instructions focus on the concepts so that students can gain strong conceptual understanding. It leads students to communicate to others by using clear definitions and carefully formulated explanations. Also, students are expected to find out the pattern or structure by observing the calculations. For example, in 1st grade, students will be asked to determine the unknown number that makes the equation true such as the following: 8 + ? = 11; 5 = ? – 3. Students are able to understand not only the concepts of addition and subtraction, but also the relationship between them, rather than just adding or subtracting.
Another major change is where students have the ability to apply mathematics to solve problems outside the classroom like in everyday life, in society, and at the workplace. In early grades, this can be demonstrated by writing an addition equation to describe a situation (e.g., There are 5 cats. 2 more cats come. How many are there in all?). In middle school grades, a student might apply proportional reasoning to plan a school event or analyze a problem in the community (e.g., Your school is going to have a fundraiser next month. You want to raise a minimum of $5,000 and you estimate between 100 and 120 people to attend. How much would you charge per ticket?). By high school, a student might use geometry to solve a design problem or use a function to describe how one quantity of interest depends on another.
Additionally, students are able to use technological tools to deepen their understanding of concepts such as a ruler, protractor, spreadsheet, or a computer algebra system. For example, students can be asked: Find the width of a rectangular room given the area of the flooring and the length, by viewing the area formula as a multiplication equation with an unknown factor (Grade 4). Or: For an account balance of -30 dollars, write |-30| = 30 to describe the size of the debt in dollars (Grade 6).
Overall, the common core math standards require students to develop higher-level thinking skills by understanding concepts and applying them to their everyday life. Therefore, now it’s time for students to change their way of learning from “How fast can I solve this question?” to “How well do I understand the concept and how well can I explain it in this question?”
Categories: Early Education, Featured, Math
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