In a May Multibriefs Exclusive article, former math teacher Brian Stack wrote about the urgent need to revamp the approach to math instruction to meet both the needs of our future economy and the large number of students who find it a struggle.
As a mother of two school-age girls who claim to hate math — as do their friends — I worry about their automatic shunning of a subject with such far-reaching implications. Can math education be improved? How? Is there a way to make it exciting and pertinent for younger students?
Grants to make real-life math a reality in elementary
Currently, teams of professors and primary teachers from different areas of the U.S. are actively looking for solutions to such issues. With the aim of introducing real-world math to younger students, the National Science Foundation has awarded over $2.8 million to fund research in mathematical modeling at the elementary school level.
This September, the NSF announced $1.5 million funding for a three-year study focusing on the teaching and learning of mathematical modeling in third through fifth grades. Research will be spearheaded by professors from the University of Washington, Arizona State and New York's Queens College. The initiative's goal is to lay a foundation for educators with a digital archive of lesson-planning tools, resources and modeling tasks.
The $1.3 million IMMERSION project, underway since 2014, is a collaboration between researchers at George Mason University, Harvey Mudd College and Montana State University and 72 elementary school educators from school districts in Montana, California and Virginia. The study's aim is to examine how intensive training of K-8 teachers affects their use of mathematical modeling in the classroom.
What is mathematical modeling?
Mathematical modeling, once primarily the domain of engineers and scientists, is becoming more prominent in higher education and various employment sectors. It involves taking a multifaceted, real-life situation with no fixed answer and solving it with math. While physical models are used by young children as soon as they can count, mathematical modeling is more complex and historically not introduced until secondary.
One impetus for this shift is mathematical modeling having been identified as one way students should use mathematics to solve problems encountered at work and in daily life by the Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practice, recently adopted by several states.
One can find mathematical modeling principles in everything from weather forecasting and traffic patterning to election forecasts and advertising, reports a WSU Today article.The process involves exploration as well as quantification, with graphs, equations and diagrams used to decipher and illustrate the mathematical underpinnings of these real-life situations.
Unlike common textbook story problems with all the information needed to solve it already built in, here students have to use their creativity and critical thinking to discern what is required to solve the problem. Instead of one correct answer, there may be several depending on the variables they choose.
One example that teachers in an IMMERSION training at George Mason University came up with was, "Is it worthwhile driving further for cheaper gasoline?" as mentioned in an Education Week article. I shared it with my 12-year-old daughter who doesn't like math, and within a minute she'd rattled off a series of variables:
- How much farther is the cheaper gasoline?
- How much cheaper is the other gasoline?
- How much gasoline does the car use in an hour?
She was hooked by the process and doesn't even drive nor pay for gas yet. I could only imagine her level of engagement with a problem involving fashion or gymnastics!
Community and cultural focus
The idea is that students explore situations that relate to their lives and the communities in which they live.
Designers of both research initiatives have made such inclusiveness a priority. The newly-launched project specifically targets high-poverty schools and culturally and linguistically diverse populations in Arizona and Washington.
"The researchers want to work with teachers to modify traditional textbook story problems into mathematical tasks that reflect community situations and may have multiple answers depending on assumptions students identify," reports WSU Today.
The IMMERSION project aims to increase the achievement of all students, including special education and advanced students, students with limited English proficiency and economically disadvantaged students.
"The geographic diversity of the project has the advantage of showing how this work impacts drastically different student demographics, as well as how it can be integrated into both common core and non-common core curriculums," say researchers on a site they've created for educators.
Are elementary students ready?
While some parents and even other educators have criticized teaching mathematical modeling in elementary as too abstract for the level of thinking to be expected at this age or a detour from more critical basic skills, participants in the IMMERSION program make it clear that this but one tactic for math instruction. Students need to continue to learn basic skills such as mathematical computation. It links core math to the real world, according to the NSF.
"Start off small," recommends Spencer Jamieson, an elementary-mathematics specialist and IMMERSION project liaison for his district in the Education Week article. Elementary teachers may begin by doing just one modeling problem with students per quarter.
Clearly, the problems need to be tailored to student level, and perhaps differentiated instruction can be employed to engage children who demonstrate readiness. Resources for teachers — including lesson plans aimed at different grade levels — are already available on websites created by project participants. For example, I found designing a zoo and building a better playground.
Mathematical modeling introduces students to authentic problems they could easily face in the real world while empowering them to solve mathematical challenges even when no formulas or steps are given. This builds student confidence as they have the sense that they're making a real accomplishment, not just following instructions nor doing boring rote tasks.
"Mathematical modeling encourages the kind of cooperation and teamwork which is essential in future academic pursuits," explain the researchers on the site. "A good modeling lesson plan provides many opportunities for students to discuss ideas, and build a model far greater than what they could accomplish individually."
Whether these NSF-funded initiatives will be enough to fuel the fire and make a real difference in mathematics education is yet to be seen. If school districts can or will pay for training so generalists are prepared to teach mathematical modeling to their students is another question. Having free resources available at teachers' (and parents') fingertips thanks to the web is a good start.
As with any other groundbreaking education movements, we'll keep you posted.
