National core standards

The National Core Standards have the potential to make great changes in education. The focus on less concepts in mathematics at the lower elementary grades will allow teachers to go in-depth with their students, not only teaching them beginning math facts, but allowing them time to develop a true understanding of what the concepts mean and how the facts are determined. This may mean that teachers will need more training in the concepts themselves. While I believe all elementary teachers have a variety of strategies for teaching addition, for example, they may not know how to help students develop the deep understanding necessary to take in to adding fractions, understanding algebra, etc.

At the upper grades, the international benchmarking will have a definite impact on what is taught and how it is taught. Korean mathematics is a huge interest with a professor at Truman State University. Through her studies, she has found that students in Korean classrooms will work with one problem for an entire class period. The difference is the depth to which they take that problem and the number of ways they explore deriving the answer. By the time students are finished, they have an understanding that they can apply to new problems, as well as a variety of strategies.

It is interesting to see what other countries are doing. While there are many, many things we are doing extremely well in the US, teaching math could use some help. In Missouri, we tend to score at about 25 - 27 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The new Commissioner's goal is for Missouri to score in the top 10.

It will be a challenge. I foresee exciting days ahead.