Is anyone familiar with TERC? My 4th grade son’s school just implemented this program. I’ve looked at some of the activities they’re doing and it looks like complete bunk. What can I do about this?
Is anyone familiar with TERC? My 4th grade son’s school just implemented this program. I’ve looked at some of the activities they’re doing and it looks like complete bunk. What can I do about this?
I do agree that many math programs are simply nonsense.
However, when looking at a new program, try to keep an open mind. Many people have been taught math in a very rigid way and know only one way to do things; there *can* be other correct routes to the same goal.
A good program will relate math to real life and concrete objects and visual images; a bad program will replace real learning by memorizing verbal strings. A good program will ask students to verify their work against reality; a bad program will leave right and wrong as mysteries held only by the initiated who hold the mystical answer key. A good program will have a consistent presentation and orientation; a bad program may have good bits and pieces but will be scattered all over the shop. A good program will have clear and consistent progress from known and simpler concepts to unknown and more complex; a bad program may have some good parts but they will not be presented in a systematic way. A good program will access higher-order thinking skills like analysis and synthesis and creativity *as well as* developing automaticity with simple mechanical skils; a bad program may be only mechanical repetition and rote memorization, or may be all sorts of fun and games with no foundation skills. A good program will be at a reasonable level, neither too basic nor too advanced; a bad program may be either too simple and not teach much, or (quite often) may present all sorts of advanced work with no lead-up to prepare students to understand it.
Read the Third International Math and Science Study and other related papers (info should be accessible through ERIC). This will tell you what works — “developing concepts”, ie actually teaching — and what doesn’t, namely handing out drill sheets and memorizing formulas. You can try to inform your local school authority of the facts, although they have probably been bamboozled by publishers so it’s an uphill battle, as also in the reading community.