California, in 1990 was the first state which demands that textbook publishers write math books on Constructivism principles. It means keeping the idea of students, especially the kids needing to experience the concept of math rather than be lectured about it. Then the other parts of the nation followed suit.
In 2009, the national governors association were the ones who hired educators to write the common core standards. The standards were to be followed for both math and literacy. The idea was to create a clear and precise curriculum that the schools could follow.
These common core state standards, or CCSS, put more emphasis on reasoning in mathematics and problem-solving, often more complex than in the past. The CCSS has eight mathematical practices, which involves
- Making sense of problems and persevering in their solving
- Quantitative and abstract reasoning
- Critique others reasoning by constructing solid arguments
- Creating models with math
- Strategic application of tools
- Attention to precision
- Making use of structure while looking for one
- Expressing and looking for regularity in the repetition of reasoning
Response to the policies- how has math teaching changed since then
The government had implemented a support system at all levels for the teachers to stay updated. Their teaching skills and mathematical knowledge have also been developed. It was seen that.
- In a survey of MKT ( mathematical Knowledge for teaching) done in 2005 and 2016, it was seen that by 2016 middle school teachers had MKT, which reached more than the 5 percentile, while teachers who were employed between 2008- 2015 scored better. This was because, after the 2008 recession, when teachers were employed, they were more able. This was due to lesser vacancies which resulted in better employment for the role.
- There has been a rise in the usage of standard-aligned curricula. In 2016, there were 19℅ teachers said that they used at least one curriculum book compared to 8℅ used in the mid-2000s.
How has math teaching changed over the past decade?
In the past few years, there has been an increase in new addition to mathematics like mental math and so on. The teachers have been made to be more interactive and focus on a math problem realistically, as in how they would apply that problem in real life, says a student who came back as a teacher. In secondary school, teachers used whiteboards while using textbooks for answering. Currently, there has been an advent in learning math through applications online.
Why has the past decade given rise to online math teaching?
It was seen that there was an openness to blended learning in the past decade. It meant that the kids of fifth to seventh grade would learn some of their portions via online math tutoring during their class, at their own pace and need, while the other portion would be taught by teachers present in the classroom.
Math tutors later would help the students to apply those concepts in real life in small and big groups. This depends a lot on investments and an adaptive environment for the students.
The world witnessed a lockdown in 2020, which went on for more than two years. There was no way in which math could be taught online. Thus teachers had to adapt to the green screen for their online math tutoring.
Teachers had to get creative, and here’s what they used-
Google Classroom-
It helped to keep track of the progress of the students, where the teachers updated homework. The students submitted their work, and the teachers could easily keep track of it while personally adding comments on improvement areas. It helped many students to understand their shortcomings and keep track, too, especially for parents.
Schoology-
It contains all the tools that you would need to teach math. It has more than two hundred tools, student information systems( SIS), and education platforms.
After the pandemic ended, even after the students had gone back to school, teachers still used some of these applications. Like, google classroom. It’s simply because of how easy it has been to track the progress on mathematical problems or upload a video or a video link where the students could watch and learn, especially for specially-abled students.
Why is online math tutoring on the rise?
Teachers can never be replaced because of the personal touch they bring. But, when it comes to teaching a lot of students, it becomes impossible for a single teacher, hence the rise of academies and online one-on-one math classes. Academies like k 12 experts take personalized private classes for students who need that extra help or push. No judgment zone here.
