BEST INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICS TEACHING PRACTICES 2024

Best International Mathematics Teaching Practices 2024

by Irene Baron 
Award-Winning Educator & Keynote Speaker

 

Do not blame industry for having to import engineers and mathematicians from other countries. United States schools are not producing them .

The United States public education systems began failing 40-years ago and flattened out for the last ten years leaving the United States  educationally at the bottom 25 percent out of 85-industrialized nations according to test results on the international Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests in mathematics.

Teaching of mathematics will make or break the economic structure of the United States. If industry cannot find needed mathematicians and engineers to hire within our country, they have no choice but to bring them in from elsewhere to make up for the deficient.  

PISA tests prove our schools are failing. Politicians rob education assets for their pork projects. Parents don’t care and children can’t vote. We have reached the bottom and the only way out is to change the status quo.

Teacher salaries within the Unites States are so low, citizens with brilliant minds have better options than the education field. As an experienced educator in various school districts in the states and for the Department of Defense in Germany, I have seen the best and the worst. Countries with students high PISA scores pay teachers good salaries.

Named an Ohio Governor’s Fellow and commended by the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives for my visionary approach to education and commitment to teaching, I was named Ohio’s Technology Teacher of the Year by AT&T. I changed every classroom in which I taught and after 40 years still have students who consider me the best teacher they ever had! One former student told me this year that for 42-years, the first thing she thinks of every morning when she wakes up is me. Astounded, when she told me, I asked why. She replied, “Because I never learned as much as in your classroom. You were the best teacher I ever had. “That proved to me students want to learn.

After the farce of education during Covid when the majority of our schools closed, student education basically stopped. When schools reopened, 18-million students K-12 refused to return to the classroom.

When colleges complain incoming  freshman are unprepared and many can’t read, the public points to schools and say, “Be ashamed!” Yet, nothing is done to remedy the situation.

It’s time to create an education system that excites students to excel and motivates teachers to become empowered and make every day one of their best. 

Technology is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity. Schools are currently preparing students for jobs that won’t exist in a few years when 50% of all jobs will be automated. All students must have data literacy tools to thrive.

As an Information Specialist, I gleaned information about schools internationally and found the two most dynamic and successful educational paradigms.  Using them, teachers will be motivating students to excel. 

Change must take place NOW. Students must be in classrooms, not isolated at home. They must learn skills in interpersonal cooperation, technical systems, cognitive abilities, and more.  

The first changes needed are politicians. They make or break schools.  Remove from office those who do not support funding schools.

For example, in the 1970’s, Ohio legislators passed a law stating Ohio schools would never receive more funding than given that year. With books $7.00 in 1979 and over $100 each in 2024, schools resorted to not distributing books to students. They use books only in the classrooms. Schools had to remove expenditures except for low salaried teachers.

The Ohio Supreme Court TWICE ruled that law be rescinded. The OHIO SENATE & OHIO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TWICE IGNORED THE OHIO SUPREME COURT RULINGS. Consequently, a child born in Ohio is educationally disadvantaged at birth!

We are stronger together. Our local, state and national governments must collaborate and create dedicated funds for schools as they move forward in the new education paradigm.  There must be government reviews for student assessments and teacher accountability. Parents must have access to assessments and growth of knowledge within every class and school in their school district.

Two Outstanding International Math Teaching Practices 

METHOD #1  KHAN ACADEMY

Each student will have 50% of the day learning in the traditional methods of education. The other 50% of the day, students will be using a computer where they learn at their own pace. The traditional teacher will be monitoring, instructing, and assisting students as needed. Volunteers may be trained to help until the students get used to the easy teaching/tutoring/testing system Pre K-12 to college. There is a world class FREE on line education system available for families of children ages 2 and above.

The number one choice for educators across the globe is the FREE NONPROFIT KHAN ACADEMY founded by Salman Khan. It opened its doors in Mountain View, California in 2014. The mission of the Khan Academy is to “provide free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.” Khan Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit mostly funded by donations coming from philanthropic organizations. In 2018 it had $31 million in revenues. It is world class. 50% of each day your students will be working with world class programs that will allow them to compete with students around the world.

The Khan Academy currently has over 70 million people using their programs. Over 2 million students use it to prepare for the SAT.

In the classroom during student technical learning, there will be group learning during peer or teacher interactions. Discussions, debates, question and answer sessions, and learning activities take place with the teachers while students learn on the computers, will accelerate learning. Classrooms will have a combination of 50% traditional and 50% nontraditional teaching each day. Students will cultivate a learning mindset that will help them the rest of their life.

Teachers will be empowered with automatic rostering and score imports as each student learning path is based on their individual continual growth assessment results. Real time reports enable small-group interventions if several are experiencing the same problem. School administrators have daily access to results.

In 2017 Khan Academy became the official practice partner for the College Board’s Advanced Placement. It provides online courses for students preparing for AP Chemistry, Praxis Core and MCAT, Code.org’s Hour of Code and provides coding lessons on its website.It is available in 42 languages and 20,000 subtitle translations available. Their YouTube channel has 7.74 million subscribers for their videos which have been viewed over 2 billion times.

The Khan Academy is a game changer and supports more than 100 public school districts in the United States including Detroit, Trenton, and Omaha.

METHOD #2      SINGAPORE MATH                   

Students taught using the Singapore Math teaching method  tested out as the best math students in the world. Their Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) math scores were not only highest, but they ranked way above the scores of students from 85 industrialized nations. 

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The term, “Singapore Math” refers to a teaching method and curriculum developed in Singapore.  It is known for its effectiveness in helping students develop a deep understanding of mathematical concepts. The curriculum draws on the work of renowned mathematicians such as Jerome Bruner, Zoltan Dienes, and Jean Piaget, as well as research on cognitive development and learning theories.

This method of teaching can be expensive as books and materials must be acquired and staff trained. The effectiveness of Singapore Math has been widely recognized internationally. It has consistently ranked among the top-performing countries in international assessments such as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Many countries have adopted or adapted elements of the Singapore Math curriculum in their own education systems to increase math skills within schools.

The Singapore Math curriculum problem-solving and critical thinking skills are the central focus of learning mathematics. The teaching aims to develop students' ability to think logically, analyze problems, and apply mathematical concepts to real-life situations. The curriculum is designed to be coherent and focused, with topics introduced in a spiral progression. 

In spiral progression, concepts are introduced in a progressive manner. Topics are revisited in subsequent grades to reinforce learning and deepen understanding. This spiral approach helps students develop a strong foundation and ensures that they do not forget previously learned concepts.

The Singapore Math curriculum problem-solving and critical thinking skills are a central focus of teaching and learning mathematics. The teaching aims to develop students' ability to think logically, analyze problems, and apply mathematical concepts to real-life situations.

Emphasis on conceptual understanding, model drawing, and mastery-based learning sets Singapore Math apart from traditional approaches to mathematics education. The curriculum emphasizes building a solid foundation for mathematical concepts. Instead of simply memorizing procedures, students are encouraged to understand the underlying principles and relationships in mathematics.

There is much use of Model drawing that involves representing word problems with diagrams or bar models. Bar models help students visualize and solve word problems by representing quantities and relationships graphically and help them visualize and understand the relationships between different quantities in a problem. By breaking down complex problems into simpler parts, students solve them more effectively.

Using a progression of concrete- pictorial- abstract approach, students start by working with physical objects or manipulatives to understand mathematical concepts concretely. They then progress to using pictorial representations before moving on to abstract symbols and equations. It is very similar to the Montessori method of teaching.

Students are encouraged to master their knowledge by developing a deep understanding of mathematical concepts rather than simply memorizing formulas or procedures. This approach promotes conceptual understanding, allowing students to apply their knowledge flexibly in various contexts.

To ensure these tactics are used in every classroom, there is a strong emphasis on teacher training and professional development. Teachers are provided with comprehensive training on the curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessment methods. The curriculum is organized into specific topics and learning objectives, providing teachers with clear guidelines for instruction. This ensures that they have a deep understanding of the mathematical concepts and pedagogical approaches required to effectively teach Singapore Math.

Resources:
Ministry of Education, Singapore - https://www.moe.gov.sg/
Singapore Math Inc. - https://www.singaporemath.com/
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) - https://www.nctm.org/
“The Secrets to Singapore's World Class Math Curriculum” by Wenxi Lee

NOTE:
Funding for several years should be directed toward teacher training and revolutionary education initiatives in the form of a “transformation fund” for the transition in teaching and learning to one of the two methods of teaching math and other subjects.

The fund should be directed to schools dependent upon their enrollment. Funds must be available to maintain and update computers as students will be working separately on them 50% of each day. It is an absolute necessity that during their tech time, each student must have a computer exclusive to them.

 Inequalities between school districts across the United States must be addressed. The digital divide between students with the internet and those without will be eliminated as each student will spend half of each school day throughout the school year experiencing technical education.

 

Irene Baron is an Information Specialist trained by the World Council of Engineers in the United Kingdom and an award winning author. As one of the most highly awarded educators in the United States, rooms become quiet when she  is asked a question. With a BA in science from Hiram College and MA from Ohio University in Educational Leadership and Administration, her research in the field of education has provided much insight into problems within American schools. Read more of her blogs at irenebaron.com.