By Courtney Koestler, Mathew Felton-Koestler, Kristen Bieda, Samuel Otten
Connecting the Standards, Improving Mathematical Instruction
Since their release in 2010, the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI)
has had a profound impact on educational reform. The adoption of these
standards represents an opportunity to support teachers in the common
goal of helping students achieve a high-quality education.
The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics will affect
almost every K-12 student and the majority of the nation’s teachers over
the next decade. Although the CCSSM was created through a top-down
approach, spearheaded by the National Governors Association and the
Council of Chief State School officers, the primary audience and the
ultimate users of the standards are classroom teachers.
The focus of this book is on the Standards of Mathematical Practice
outlined in the CCSSM. Although the CCSSM features these standards
prominently, they are not described in detail and are not integrated
into CCSSM's Standards for Mathematical Content. As a result, they are
easy to overlook or ignore.
The ideas in the Standards for Mathematical Practice are not new but
linked to previous practices and standards articulated by other groups,
including the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). For
example, problem solving and reasoning are at the core of all practices
outlined in CCSSM, just as they have been at the core of NCTM's vision
for mathematics education since the publication of An Agenda for Action
in 1980. Subsequent NCTM curriculum recommendations, emphasized and
elaborated the role and place of mathematical processes and practices.
The Standards of Mathematical Process outlined in CCSSM, and explored in
greater detail in this book, reaffirm the significance of habits of
mind, mathematical processes, and proficiency as crucial aspects of
learning mathematics. Although the terms and emphasis may be new to
teachers, the main ideas have existed a long time and remain unchanged.
Intended for classroom teachers, this book makes explicit connections
between these related ideas and the CCSSM Standards for Mathematical
Practice. By connecting the CCSSM to previous standards and practices,
the book serves as a valuable guide for teachers and administrators in
implementing the CCSSM to make mathematics education the best and most
effective for all students.
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