University Program Helps Math Teachers Prepare for the Switch to Common Core Standards

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Math teachers work together to design new classroom projects in the Engineering and Mathematics Partnership Program.

Michelle Price, an eighth-grade math teacher at Woodland Jr. High, will be starting the upcoming school year with a whole new approach. “It’s a total flip,” she explained about the switch to the Common Core State Standards. “It’s student-centered. It’s discovery learning.”

Price is taking part in the U of A Engineering and Mathematics Partnership, spending eight days on campus, learning more about the new standards and developing projects to use in her classroom next year. In the notes she took this week, Price wrote “I’m their guide” in big letters, to remind herself of her new relationship with her students.

Beginning in fall 2012, Arkansas schools are adopting the standards put forth by the Common Core State Standards Initiative. According to its website, these standards “were developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce.”

As Price explains it, the Common Core emphasizes hands-on learning, so that students understand the real-world concepts and applications behind the math problems, instead of spending all their time memorizing formulas. In this approach, just like in the real world, “There can be many ways to get to the answer, and there’s not always one exact answer,” she said.

This shift presents a challenge for teachers, who must reexamine the lesson plans and schedules they have relied on in past years. “We’re learning all of this all over again,” said Price.

As part of the program, eighty-one 6th-8th grade math teachers in the Northwest Arkansas and eastern Arkansas area are designing projects to illustrate concepts such as linear equations. One of Price’s favorites involves something that is sure to get students’ attention: candy.

The students start with piles of M&M’s and are told to eat them at a certain rate—2 every 5 seconds, for example. The students then record the data from their candy eating and chart it on a graph. From looking at the graph, the students can make a direct connection between concepts such as slope and y-intercept and the data they collected, and then they can generate equations that describe different rates of candy eating.

After the school year starts, these teachers will continue to get support from the university. Professors involved in the program will be visiting their classrooms to observe their teaching, discuss their experiences and provide feedback.

The primary investigator for this program is Bryan Hill, assistant dean in the College of Engineering. Co-principal investigators include Ed Clausen, professor of chemical engineering; Carol Gattis, associate dean of the Honors College; Nick Tschepikow, former director of the Northwest Arkansas Education Renewal Zone; and Janet Woodland, assistant clinical professor of mathematical sciences. George Denny, professor of educational statistics and research methods, is the external evaluator.

The program is funded by a grant from the Arkansas Department of Education.