Six Kentucky districts are testing a new inquiry-based math teaching method called “formative assessment.” The teaching and testing program was designed by experts to emphasize classroom activities that help teachers gauge the learning needs of individual students.

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Tags: Education Policy, Math, Math teachers, Mathematics

LaMar Queen, a teacher at the Los Angeles Academy, has boosted his eighth-graders’ math grades by his use of rap music — which he writes and performs — to help them learn the rules of algebra.

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Filed under: K-12 Education News | 2 Comments »

Tags: Education Policy, Math, Math teachers, Mathematics, Teaching Aids

The Force & Motion sequence of City Technology, The City College of New York (CCNY), consists of four curriculum units that integrate math science, engineering and literacy across the elementary grades. For each, teachers can find lesson plans, down-loadable curriculum guides, and standards alignments. For more activities and lessons, see City Technology’s projects page for educators.

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Filed under: Web Resources | Comments Off on Website: Engineering for Young Children

Tags: Grades K-5, Mathematics, Mechanical engineering, STEM subjects, Web Resources

How well do America’s future math teachers stack up against their counterparts around the world? Just so-so, according to a new Michigan State University study released last week. They earned an average C grade, and were well and truly aced by rivals from education-centric countries like Singapore and Taiwan.

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Tags: College, Math teachers, Mathematics, Research on Learning, Teacher Training

It’s not unusual to find an occasional error in a text book. But, a K-6 mathematics series recently purchased by two Sacramento, California, school districts is not only riddled with mistakes, some of them are real whoppers. For instance: informing kids that five times three equals five. Publisher Macmillan/McGraw-Hill said it was working with district officials to rectify the problems.

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Tags: Education Policy, Mathematics, Textbooks

American girls have closed the mathematics gender gap. That’s the finding of a new study by the Center on Education Policy, which has been tracking gender differences among U.S. students in math and reading since 2002. While girls have traditionally trailed boys when it comes to math skills, particularly at the elementary school level, the study finds that boys and girls are now roughly equally proficient at math at all three levels: elementary, middle school and high school.

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Tags: Girls Education, Math, Mathematics, Research on Learning

The You CAN Do the Rubik’s Cube Tournament challenges teams of K-12 students from area schools in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia, to see who can solve 25 Rubik’s Cubes in the fastest time. Registration Deadline: April 30, 2010. Prizes: Range from $1,000 to $100.

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Tags: Competitions for Students, Mathematics, USA Science and Engineering Festival 2010

Since 2003, Washington D.C.’s fourth grade math scores have increased at triple the national rate. Educators there think one big reason is the adoption of the Everyday Mathematics curriculum, which emphasizes problem-solving in the students’ own worlds, and frequent practice of math skills via games.

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Tags: Mathematics, Research on Learning

In this lesson plan, students learn how to find shapes in their world. With the help of the children’s book A Triangle for Adaora by Ifeoma Onyefulu, which shares the experience of a young Nigerian girl as she looks for a triangle around her, students learn the basic shapes, then go looking for them in magazines. They then present their findings to the class as shape researchers. This lesson also incorporates cultural learning.

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Tags: Class Activities, Curriculum, Lesson Plans, Mathematics, Teacher Resources