Since the late '90s, the Anchorage School District has adopted a new way of teaching mathematics in elementary school, known as "Everyday Math."
The district says the method emphasizes learning about math concepts, as opposed to the rote memorization that so many of us are used to from our elementary school days.
Take the relatively simple mathematics problem of 27 X 38:
Try working out the problem using pencil and paper -- no calculators!
If you do the problem correctly, you'll arrive at 1,026, and if you're like thousands of other adults, your scratch paper probably looks something like this:
27X 38
216
81
1026
But, if you ask a 4th grader in Anchorage to solve the problem, using the "Everyday Math" method, you may be a little confused at how they go about doing it.
According to former ASD math teacher David Nees, the student would begin by drawing a grid with the numbers 27 and 38 along the outside, and a series of diagonal lines slashed through the inside.
After a few simple multiplications, that student would arrive at the same answer, 1026.
But with such a radically different method of solving the problem than what most parents are used to, ASD superintendent Carol Comeau wanted to investigate.
"One of the things we've heard from parents and teachers in the community is, 'Is this really the best approach to teaching elementary math?'," Comeau said.
Monday, the Anchorage School Board got some answers to that question, in the form of a new report from the Council of Great City Schools about how the math program is implemented in the Anchorage School District.
The report shows the school district has some things to work on.
The report says the school district needs to do a better job teaching parents -- the people most likely to help their kids with homework after school -- the methods that their children are being taught to solve math problems.
"The school district needed to provide more support for the implementation than they were," said Mike Casserly, the Council's director.
Both Comeau and Nees say that they've heard complaints about the "Everyday Math" program from parents, who say that the method is so different from what they learned in school, that some parents aren't able to help their children with their homework.
"When you have [the traditional method] on the board, and [the "everyday math" method] on the board, and the parent's trying to do it the traditional way, [the student] is going to stop listening to Mom and Dad, and Mom and Dad can't help them," Nees said.
"A lot of parents don't even understand how to help their kids," Comeau said. "So it's up to us to come up with ideas on how to do better outreach to the parents."
The report suggested a so-called "Parents' University" to help parents learn the new math.
The report also says that teachers need better support as well, making sure its taught the right way.
Comeau stands by research about "Everyday Math" that shows when the method is taught the way it's supposed to, students perform better in math classes than other students in traditional math classes.
"If the teachers get the right professional development and support and they teach it the way it was designed, then students do very well," Comeau said.
The Council of Great City Schools says the report and study cost ASD about $26,000.
Contact Jason Lamb at jlamb@ktuu.com
