Digging Deeper into Mathematics

Every year, the Pleasantdale District 107 staff members strive to improve their teaching and assessment practices.  This year, a major curricular focus for the district is mathematics teaching and learning.

Math teachers of grades K-8, as well as some district administrators, are participating in the Metro Chicago Math Initiative (formerly the West Cook Math Initiative) in order to collaborate with other educators as we enhance our understanding of best practices in mathematics instruction.  Teachers will be introduced to new strategies that reinforce the implementation of tasks that promote reasoning and problem solving, support productive struggle in learning mathematics, and elicit and use evidence of student thinking. Goals of the initiative include supporting the development of the students’ robust understanding of mathematics and identifying strategies for building a sense-making classroom while promoting the Common Core Standards of Mathematical Practices across all grade levels.

In addition to teachers receiving on-going professional development through MCMI, we are also piloting new math programs at the elementary and middle school levels.  Our goal is to adopt a primary resource to support the CCSS math curriculum at the elementary and middle levels, while also providing students with rich tasks through which to develop deep conceptual understanding through engaging in the Standards for Mathematical Practices.  At the elementary level, the programs being piloted are Bridges in Mathematics and Origo Stepping Stones.  Select middle school math classes are piloting the Big Ideas program.  Piloting teachers will be utilizing the designated program materials with fidelity in order to gain a true understanding of the resources and how they can support our curriculum.  There will be ongoing professional dialogue among piloting teachers, and teachers will also be seeking feedback from students and parents on the math programs.  The Math Curriculum Review Team will make recommendations for future adoption based on these experiences, as well as their new learning about best practices in mathematics based on their participation in the MCMI.

We are excited about the possibilities our new endeavors hold and are looking forward to providing our students with increased opportunities to deepen their understanding of mathematics!