Which Varies? Instructional Time or Student Learning
Matt Larson, president of
NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics), wrote this article last Fall to help create a conversation about time devoted to Math education. Does increasing the
amount of time devoted to learning Math in school make a difference? Some students get more than one period a day devoted to Math but as Larson states "
how instructional time is used is as important as the fact that it is allocated." He adds his two cents about how to provide help boost learning by keeping students as close to grade level as possible with "
Students are not removed from grade-level or subject-based instruction to receive targeted support." In some schools, there may not be a Math lesson on a daily basis:
When my 20 year old son was in elementary school, I would ask "What did you learn in Math today?" sometimes he would say "We did not have Math today" so while the school used the
Everyday Math program, ironically they did not have Math every day.
|