UPDATED: Making Friends With Mathematics [VIDEO]

The SAU #39 school district has a vision where students don’t just pass their math classes, they excel in them.

A district-wide initiative to improve students’ understanding of mathematics was rolled out this year, but the effort has been fully implemented in Mont Vernon and Clark/Wilkins elementary schools.

Professor Mahesh Sharma has played a major role in improving math literacy in our schools and has been working with our educators to bring his mindset for mathematics to life in the classroom.

Sharma is the founder and president of the Center for Teaching/Learning of Mathematics, Inc., of Wellesley and Framingham, Mass., and Berkshire Mathematics in England. He is also the former president and professor of Mathematics Education at Cambridge College, where he taught mathematics and mathematics education for 35 years. 

Amherst Patch sat down with the professor after his session with Clark Elementary teachers to improve their math education.

Visualizing Mathematics

Professor Mahesh Sharma has spent many years consulting schools on how to improve math instruction, which he boils down to three issues:

1. There are no non-negotiable skills at each grade level.
2. There is not a common definition of knowing.
3. There are not consistent models for teaching math.

Sharma said that many students are going on to the next grade level without mastering the basic skills needed to gain a higher level in math.

“There are fifth graders who don’t know addition facts,” said Sharma on Monday.

According to Sharma, 8 percent of students suffer from Dyscalculia and have extreme difficulty in conceptualizing numbers, identifying number relationships and outcomes of numerical operations.

He compares Dyscalculia to the developmental reading disorder Dyslexia, an issue that has been dealt with more effectively than developmental problems with math. Interestingly enough, 40 percent of students with Dyslexia also have issues with mathematics.

Sharma believes that is because the mathematics uses the same cognitive skills for reading and language arts. Each math problem has three components: linguistic, conceptual and procedural.

Also, Sharma said that 28 percent are either identified as having a learning difficulty in math or are struggling.

Due to these issues and other factors, he said that 68 percent of students have said they “hate math” by the ninth grade.

To address these issues, Sharma believes that “preventative teaching” methods are the best way to get students to master non-negotiable skills before moving on to the next class.

This includes focusing on having children master math skills and see numbers not just as symbols, but concepts that can be visualized and brought to life.

That can be achieved through methods used at other schools in industrialized countries throughout the world that are currently surpassing our own in math education.

“There are best practices to do these things,” he said.

Sharma said that one way to effectively teach mathematics is to have a common definition of knowing, which means that all teachers have the same standard for a students’ understanding of mathematics.

For example, one teacher may teach children to count on their fingers, another may use a number line and a third may emphasise calculator use.

“Mastery is not achieved by many students because the definition of knowing is not appropriate one,” he said. “When only have one skill at their disposal, they cannot go too far.”

His goal is for children to have a fluency in number sense and feel comfortable using multiple strategies to address mathematical problems.

Applying Sharma’s Methods

Liz Alexakos is a Kindergarten teacher at Clark-Wilkins and has been teaching for 15 years. She is also a member of the Math Program Review Committee and began using Sharma’s methods last year.

Her teaching of mathematics has become more consistent and focuses on mastering important content rather than than trying to get through more of it.

The goal is to have children visualize numbers in order to effectively use them in math problems. Alexakos said that math is focused on every day through her “Big Three” lesson plan, which includes different strategies to reach a depth of understanding.

For example, the young students do daily oral counting to help them hear and recognize words that are also numbers. They also physically organize themselves into numbered groups and use special visual cards to bring math to life.

“I think they have responded really well,” she said. “The approach is hands on and it feels good for them.”

Find the draft of the SAU #39 vision for mathematics here.