There is some controversy over the method of teaching mathematics
that has been used by Milpitas High School for the last eight
years. The "old" method most of us remember, where
a teacher would lecture us about a new concept and give us some
board time and practice, going around a checking our work as
we tried to apply the new concepts: that method is gone. In its
place is a method called College Preparatory Mathematics or CPM
for short. CPM focuses on groups of kids trying to solve "real
life" problems together, which sounds good in concept, but
does it work?
Terry Queenan, Vice Principal of Milpitas High School, tells
me that scores are up on such tests as the SATs. There is a higher
pass rate among math students in the levels of Algebra I, II,
and Geometry. The number of students going on to higher levels
of math has been about the same, on the average. At the higher
levels, a traditional approach is used.
Does it turn out young people who are mathematically literate?
I have linked below some studies and essays about this method,
to help you decide.
College Preparatory
Mathematics
Official website. CPM is a non-profit corporation dedicated to
teaching more students more mathematics by providing improved
secondary curricula and teacher support.
College Preparatory Mathematics Program (CPMP)
Teachers in Chicago formed a network committed to learning how
to instruct largely under served student populations in college
preparatory mathematics, from pre-algebra through calculus, through
cooperative learning and non-traditional curricular materials.
Effectiveness of CPM vs Traditional Math
This report was prepared by Robert W. Haswell, a high school
math teacher for the past 27 years. "I wrote this analysis
on behalf of many of my colleagues who are being asked to pursue
a teaching approach which is unproven at best, and which may
prove much less effective for many at most. I also wrote this
report on behalf of a very large number of students who find
the CPM approach to the teaching of mathematics ineffective."
Math method not working for some
By Amita Sharma, The Press-Enterprise. High failure rates and
concerns that students are not learning the math skills they
need has prompted a third of Inland area high schools trying
a new college-prep program to drop it.
Mathematics curriculum boosts performance
High school students using the Innovative Mathematics Program
(IMP, from Berkeley, is similar to CPM, which hails from Davis.)
significantly outperform their counterparts who take the traditional
curriculum, according to studies conducted by WCER researcher
Norman Webb and colleagues.
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