FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Stacey Finkel, 703-304-1377,[email protected]
Reston,
Va. — July 27, 2020 — As teachers, school leaders and families
prepare for the coming school year, the National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)
is providing guidance, resources and support to determine how best to
educate our students as we continue to navigate the impact of
COVID-19.
The
NCTM Back to School
resources were developed by a task force of mathematics teachers and
district leaders from across the country and Canada to support
decision-making and concerns being experienced in many communities.
Back to School builds from NCTM’s earlier work,Moving
Forward: Mathematics Learning in the Era of Covid-19,
developed in partnership with NCSM
Leadership in Mathematics Education.
NCTM
has developed recommendations for district administrators, math
leaders, classroom teachers and families. The guidance supports those
responsible for math teaching, learning, and policy to create
equitable opportunities for each and every student through rigorous
and engaging math learning. Some recommendations include:
No
standardized testing for the 2020–2021 school year
Strategies
for learning missed content
Planning
and preparing for remote teaching and learning, both synchronous and
asynchronous, as well as face-to-face instruction
As
the pandemic shuttered schools, NCTM and its members were looking for
ways to collaborate and prepare to teach in the new online
environment. NCTM launched the 100
Days of Professional Learning
on April 1, 2020. In just three months, NCTM has engaged with a
quarter of a million educators from all 50 states and Canada.
NCTM
is also hosting free Back to School webinars starting today through
Thursday, July 30, 2020. The webinars will focus on topics such as
understanding what math learning should look like, supporting the
mental health of teachers and students and creating structures and
policies to meet the needs of each and every student in math.
The
Back to School resources also include guidance for
school
and district administrators, as they support underserved students,
who may have been adversely impacted by the move to online
learning,
math
leaders, as they work to consider where to invest time and
resources,
teachers,
as they consider how address lost learning moving forward, and
parents,
as they determine how to best support their children as they learn
math.
“There
are many uncertainties right now,” said NCTM President Trena
Wilkerson. “We are continuing to collaborate and listen to
teachers. At the heart of their concerns are how they can best do
their job of continuing to engage students in learning meaningful
mathematics in this new environment. We know that schools will look
different for math teachers in California compared to those in Texas
or New York, and we are looking to share guidance that will help. We
believe there are ways to create environments where students see
themselves as doers of math, understand math and know how to use it.”
"We
know teachers are having to orient themselves to new environments and
circumstances,” said Nevels Nevels, NCTM Task Force member and
Mathematics Curriculum Coordinator, Hazelwood School District in
Florissant, Missouri. “As we embark on an unprecedented time in
education, the Task Force seeks to provide educators with resources
and guidance for this next chapter, and whether it is distance,
hybrid or in-person, the approach will have to be supported and
informed to best engage all students.”
Additional
resources include:
For
more information about NCTM’s Back to School recommendations visit
www.nctm.org/backtoschool/.
###
About
the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
The
National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics
celebrates 100 years as the public voice of mathematics education,
supporting teachers to ensure equitable mathematics learning of the
highest quality for each and every student through vision,
leadership, professional development and research. With 40,000
members and more than 200 Affiliates, it is the world’s largest
organization dedicated to improving mathematics education in
prekindergarten through grade 12. NCTM is dedicated to ongoing
dialogue and constructive discussion with all stakeholders about what
is best for students and envisions a world where everyone is enthused
about mathematics, sees the value and beauty of mathematics, and is
empowered by the opportunities mathematics affords.
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