The Observer » math

K-12 Math Work presents county with changes for its math curriculum

yakbari — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:18:11 +0000

The K-12 Math Work Group presented a set of 26 recommendations for changes to the MCPS math curriculum to Superintendent Jerry Weast and the Board of Education in early November.
Assembled in January 2009, the K-12 Math Work Group’s objective is to improve the MCPS math program.
“The goal of the work group is to improve math teaching and learning in MCPS,” said Erick lang, MCPS associate superintendent of curricular and instructional programs and a member of the K-12 Math Work Group. “The work group focused on five areas: written curriculum, implemented curriculum, assessed curriculum, acceleration and targets and professional development.”
The proposed changes overlap with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), uniform standards for the K-12 mathematics and English language arts education that Maryland adopted this past June. Maryland is one of 40 states to have adopted the CCSS.
“The CCSS emphasize a stronger mastery of number concepts at the elementary and middle school level,” said Marty Creel, MCPS director of enriched and innovative programs and a member of the K-12 Math Work Group. “This will help prepare more students for higher level math courses at the high school level.”
According to a memorandum from Weast to the Board of Education, the recommended changes to the written curriculum call for more in-depth math education at each grade level including a focus on number concepts in elementary school, algebraic concepts in middle school and geometric and Algebra 2 concepts, as well as preparations for higher level math, in high school. The report also emphasizes the necessity of approaching mathematical concepts from different directions and examining their applications to real life.
MCPS also hopes to integrate more technology use into the math curriculum, including an online forum for staff members to develop and share ideas.
According to the memorandum, one recommended change to MCPS’s acceleration practices is to “eliminate the practice of having large number of students skipping grade levels in mathematics.”
Some students who were accelerated in middle school have trouble with high school math. Junior Monica Won, for example, skipped both Algebra I and Algebra II.
“In Honors Precalculus, first quarter I struggled a little bit,” Won said. “I lacked a little bit of basics.”
Sophomore Rachel Beiser was part of a group of students at Wayside Elementary School who skipped sixth grade math to take seventh grade math in fifth grade.
“I think at times when we were younger, all of us skipped had gaps, so our teacher had to reteach us or we just had to reteach us or we just had to catch on over the years,” Beiser said. “Seeing my classmates over the years, I think that there were a bunch of them that shouldn’t have been pushed too far.”
Although the changes have been presented to Weast, they have not yet been finalized.
“The next step is for an Implementation Team assembled by Weast to review and prioritize the recoomendations,” Creel said. “This will include details like timelines for when specific recommendations will be implemented.”
According to Lang, most curricular changes will be put into effect during the 2011-2012 school year.
“MCPS is continuing to emphasize success in mathematics and mathematical proficiency for all students,” math department head Jan Williams said. “The emphasis on understanding, computing, applying, reasoning and engaging in mathematics will continue to be important aspects of our mathematics at all level.”

Math competition winner

cbachrach — Fri, 28 May 2010 15:05:06 +0000

Congratulations to freshman Colin Kincaid for winning the American Math Competition 10 (AMC) and the University of Maryland (UMD) Math competition.

The annual AMC is a math competition for underclassmen who wish to asses their math skills by taking a nationwide test. Kincaid competed against about 50 other people and became the school winner out of all the CHS students who took it.

Kincaid decided to participate in the competitions after receiving an invitation from the math department due to his high skill level in math.

“I’m happy I tried it,” Kincaid said. “I like math.”

Math department holds Biggest Loser competition

jrheingold — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:13:09 +0000

In a country where everything is super-sized and portions are out of control, the math department, along with a few other staff members, decided to get healthy and lose weight.

The idea of the math department’s Biggest Loser competition started when a group of teachers were sitting around a table talking about how they wanted to lose weight. AP AB Calculus and SAT Prep teacher Craig Whyte suggested the idea of a Biggest Loser competition, inspired by the NBC reality television show.

“I joined because I recently had a physical and found that my weight has increased significantly,” Algebra II teacher Curtis Southworth said. ”My doctor suggested that I could stand to lose weight.”

The competition was pretty simple; all the teachers picked a partner and then were divided into two teams. The team and the individual with the biggest percentage of weight lost won. The only rule was to lose as much weight as possible.

“The Math Department always has so much food and it is easy to overeat,” Geometry and Pre-Calculus teacher Kylena Cross said. “The contest helped us get back in control.”

The second annual Biggest Loser was a four-month competition, which ended May 1, but many teachers are planning to continue with their progress. According to Whyte, he now eats healthier and runs regularly. After already losing 35 pounds, he plans to lose about seven more.

“[Some teachers] thought that it was harder this year because it was so cold and rainy,” Cross said. “They could not get out [to exercise] much.”

To help track the competitors’ progress, there was an initial weigh-in, a final weigh-in and one check-in along the way. The winning duo was assistant principal Doreen Brandes and assistant principal Edward Reed, who lost a combined 35 percent of their total body weight. Reed, who lost 74.6 pounds, was the overall winner.

“I think that everyone had fun with the competition, even those who did not lose as much weight,” Cross said. “It brought a sense of camaraderie between us.”

Reed and other teachers, with the help of the physical education department, are trying to put together a free workshop for teachers on good nutrition and the importance of exercise.

“I would say the true prize of this competition is getting healthy,” Reed said.

After hearing the news that he was going to have a baby daughter, Reed realized the importance of maintaining good health. According to Reed, as a parent and an educator, a lot of people depend on him, and it is important for him to do his part and stay healthy.

“I used to stop at Dunkin’ Donuts and get an extra-large coffee, sausage, egg and cheese croissant, hashbrowns and a doughnut,” Reed said. “I would consume 1,200 calories before 7 a.m.”

According to Reed, Game Development and Software Application by Design teacher James Collins, who previously lost about 100 pounds, was his inspiration.

“Together [Collins] and I have this saying that we want to be able to dance at our daughters’ weddings,” Reed said.