Jan. 24, 2019 – We’re sure you’ve already noticed — the way math is taught in our elementary schools doesn’t look the way it used to.
When the state of Florida shifted required math standards, Duval County Public Schools initiated a big shift of its own moving students from knowing the work, to knowing the “why.”
Moving from procedure-driven math, to concept-driven math meant making a lot of changes. Shawn Wigg, Director of Mathematics, explains the difference between how math used to be taught and how math is being taught now.
“So what we’re focusing on at the elementary level is understanding how the math works so we can train students to treat it like the engine of a car,” said Wigg “We teach them each piece and how they work together, so as they progress to middle and high school, they can begin diagnosing problems and fixing them quickly.”
Teachers, like Chelsea Urbon, are seeing the difference in her students’ thinking already.
“They can tell you why we do each thing… They can do what their strength is, and that’s in my opinion one of the biggest benefits of this math that we are doing.”
Watch the video above to see how these changes are being applied in the classroom as early as kindergarten.
