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Common Core in Mathematics: Shifts 2-6
July 30, 2011 | 2 Comments
This is a 32-minute video which features a discussion between NYS Commissioner of Education John B. King Jr., David Coleman (contributing author to the Common Core) and Kate Gerson (a Sr. Fellow with the Regents Research Fund) addressing Math Shifts 2 – 6-12. By unpacking these shifts, the discussion addresses ways in which teacher and student skill can develop into deep understanding and facility through an increased attention to coherence across grades, fluency in basic functions, and real world application. After watching this video, educators might ask themselves: What are the Shifts in Math? What does it demand? Where should we begin? What are the implications for our school/ department/ district as we implement Shift s 2-6? What will this mean we have to change about our practice? What challenges will we face as we make these shifts? What can we do about the need for student fluencies? How could our school/district have fun with fluency work? What can we, as adults, do to ensure our own deep understanding of the focus areas in order to become better educators? What will it take for us and our students to own these concepts? Participants may also want to organize themselves into cross-grade teams to discuss which concept they can connect across grades this year and align instruction so that there is explicit and thoughtful instruction across the years. Science practitioners, in particular, may want to explore whether their current curriculum is at all guilty of what David calls, “the unnatural suppression of Math in Science.” To what extent can Math be re-introduced to the Science classroom and in what ways can Math and Science teachers partner so that Science teachers can depend on, inform, and build on Math skills that are essential for high performing Science students? A worksheet to accompany this video is available in both Word and PDF below.
This is just one way of conducting professional development around this video. We encourage you to use this opportunity to share your ideas and experiences. Please contribute to the discussion by telling us how YOU have used these videos! Which discussion questions did you find sparked the most collaboration amongst educators? What professional learning experiences did you design around the viewing? We want to hear from you so that educators across the state can benefit from your experience!
Downloadable Resource(s)
Shifts 2-6 Worksheet in PDF
Shifts 2-6 Worksheet in Word
The Common Core in Mathematics Slideshow
Tagged with common core state standards
Common Core in Mathematics: Shifts 2-6
I was surprised when David mentioned the big fallacy that still exists: “There are math people and non-math people.” This goes against the very grain of standards-based instruction. Fortunately, through attribution retraining in SBE (Standards-Based Education) programs, teachers who still hold fast to that view can be retrained to understand that all students are capable of learning, even those who traditionally performed at lower levels.
I agree with David that addressing the “bargain of education” by introducing “syncopation unpredictability” is an excellent way to strengthen COHERENCE. As students are temporarily thrown off balance when solving a math problem which is not identical to the pattern studied, they begin an intellectual journey fraught with danger and excitement. The danger is that they may not complete this journey of discovery. The excitement is that the unpredictability of the problem requires higher-order critical thinking skills at each conceptual crossroad as students quickly try to sift through layers of salient accumulated concepts and skills and integrate them with the new topic of study to reach a rich and rewarding view never experienced before!
Reinvigorating previously-learned concepts by applying them to novel situations leads to an automaticity of those core concepts necessary for FLUENCY. The connecting of concepts results in the cementing of concepts. But owning a concept is not the same as transferring that concept as a skill. For DEEP UNDERSTANDING to take place, the learned concepts must be usably transferred to new situations, or they will suffer the fate of extinction.
The “unprompted application of concepts in a new environment”, as Dave suggests, “provides a rich opportunity to test core fluencies.” So APPLICATION also serves as an excellent mechanism for feedback on how well the core concepts are not only learned, but applied. It is this application of learned concepts that is the hallmark for conceptual understanding. Our science department has fought the “unnatural suppression of science” by including and integrating district-defined benchmarks to our science curricula (in addition to state and national standards)which merges a natural unity between science and math.
When Kate asks how we can find a balance between understanding a practice, Dave challenges us all with a new question: How can we do both with vigor? This “dual ambition” is the essence of DUAL INTENSITY. Excellence isn’t easy, but excellence provides opportunity. Our students deserve our best to be at their best!
It would be quite helpful if this could be broken down by shift for those of us who are lacking the technology to do it ourselves. Is this available anywhere?