Advanced Mathematics Education in CISD

Mathematics education always seems to be a “hot topic” in education, and in my experience, it does not matter whether your learner is in elementary school, middle school or high school.  Mathematics education is always a “hot topic.”

This year has been no different with the realignment of the TEKS, so Mary Kemper, CISD’s Director of Mathematics and I collaborated to provide members of CGA with an update on mathematics instruction in CISD for the 2013-2014 school year.

As previously mentioned, mathematics TEKS have been realigned by the state and many CISD educators spent the summer addressing areas where instructional gaps would exist for learners once the TEKS are implemented during the 2014-2015 school year.  CISD’s proactive response to the realignment has gone incredibly smoothly and both educators and learners are responding positively to the learning design in those classrooms.

In the coming months, CISD educators at all levels will be meeting not only to review the implementation schedule for the new TEKS, but also to discuss what the identified focal areas of the TEKS will mean to mathematics instruction at their grade level.  (For example, one of the focal areas for first grade is place value.)  At the middle school level, one of the most visible changes to the TEKS is the addition of personal financial literacy standards.  Mathematics educators are excited about the learning experiences that can be designed around “real-world” scenarios incorporating these standards!

Several modifications have been implemented at the high school level in response to changes in legislation.  The state has mandated only one mathematics End of Course exam as a graduation requirement – Algebra I.  Additional changes will be implemented after both Coppell High School and New Tech High @ Coppell present their proposed Foundation Programs to the school board in December (as required by House Bill 5).  Once those are programs are solidified, the CHS GT Mathematics educators will finalize their plan for providing accelerated math instruction to learners for Algebra I in middle school.

Mathematics instructional materials (both print and digital versions) are up for adoption over the course of the next two school years.  Community members, educators and learners will be involved in the adoption process.

All mathematics instruction in CISD is designed to be relevant to the learners, provide the opportunity for creative problem solving as learners construct their own meaning, and transfer between disciplines and contexts.

submitted by- Deana Harrell, CISD Director of Advanced Academics