After your children have a solid understanding conceptually of the operations and procedures of mathematics, they are able to solve problems, think logically and justify their own reasoning. The jump in levels, described in mathematical proficiency, is exciting for teachers because the last level claims students will “perceive mathematics as useful and worthwhile,” which is one of the most fulfilling feelings as a math professional (“Principles to Actions”, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 8). While educators should be consistently implementing Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM), if students do not have a strong background or the correct experiences to foster academic growth, teachers will not be able to affect our children as deemed necessary. Teachers assist our children by engaging them in challenging tasks, connecting prior knowledge to current lessons, and eventually instilling meta-cognitive awareness into daily thinking habits while using proper communication skills to get the message across.

I’m ecstatic that the education system has since adapted and realized that rogue memorization is not a high-level task. We perform more rigorous activities and promote reasoning and problem solving throughout the education system. We’ve done so by incorporating different kinds of goals, similar to the CCSSM, into our lesson plans but also short-term differences that students can be tracking. “Learning projections and trajectories” help students to achieve fuller understanding and leave a lasting impression (NCTM, 13). Students taking their education into their own hands also increases self-efficacy and relinquishes power of the teacher to the students.

Students want to know why we are learning what we are learning. Defining the purpose of the lesson and having students make real-world connections helps them to develop an understanding as to how the problem is related to them as a learner. They can ponder “this makes sense to me because…” or “this applies to me if…” and so forth. Creating a more open and possibly spontaneous atmosphere of education, due to utilizing group work and multiple entry points of understanding a concept, creates an enriching classroom! Student collaboration fosters respect and understanding of a variety of ways to approach even one problem without monotonously hounding kids to “be respectful.” They learn to do the task on their own which helps the teacher take a step back and helps kids reach perspectives or knowledge on their own.

Giving students the answer or simply engaging in call and response techniques no longer identifies proof of learning taking place. Instead, teachers can “monitor student work” and by “sequencing students’ responses in a specific order for classroom discussion,” prompt students to talk amongst each other about the lesson and provide their own opinions and explanations (NCTM, 30).

Read more from the “Principles of Action” summary: https://www.nctm.org/uploadedFiles/Standards_and_Positions/PtAExecutiveSummary.pdf