everyday math?

[bbrandonsmom]

Why can I not find much on Everyday Math? I found almost nothing here on WTM. I found an article about it being Chicago based or something, and that some schools were using. Then either a few good/bad things about it.

What is it similar to? Singapore and MM? I watched this yahoo video thing of it, but the woman was pretty supportive of traditional math, and had nothing good to say about the other math methods-including EM.

 

Anyone here use it? Any comments about it?

 

I found out today that an elementary gifted program in my county uses EM. But I don't think the gifted middle school does (not positive), so how would using EM be beneficial to them in elementary?

[MrsMe]

This is a horrible math program. Has mostly horrible reviews. IMO, it's backwards, time-consuming and a hodgepodge of gargage. The only need I see for it is if a child has math issues and just can't relate any other way.

 

Check it out yourself.

 

 

It's used here and the parents are thoroughly disgusted with it.

Edited September 18, 2010 by alilac

[nmoira]

I found out today that an elementary gifted program in my county uses EM. But I don't think the gifted middle school does (not positive), so how would using EM be beneficial to them in elementary?

I'm given to understand that for districts that purchase the entire program and properly educate their teachers, the program is workable. However, adequate implementation seems to be the exception rather than the rule, and there is no shortage of EM horror stories.

 

The biggest different between Singapore and MM relative to EM is that the latter is a spiral program without expectation of mastery at each step. While Singapore spirals once a year, there is relatively little reteaching of old concepts and the student is expected to master each topic each year. Singapore spirals to expand topics, not remediate or reteach. EM on the other hand emphasizes "exposure" over mastery and it is assumed that kids who don't pick up concepts the first time will do so next time it is retaught. Also, while Singapore and MM encourage conceptual understanding (which is supposed to be EM's strong suit), they also explicitly teach the mechanics of the traditional algorithms. Students don't get the types of choices they do in EM.

Edited September 18, 2010 by nmoira
typo

[3andme]

I'm given to understand that for districts that purchase the entire program and properly education their teachers, the program is workable. However, adequate implementation seems to be the exception rather than the rule, and there is no shortage of EM horror stories.

 

The biggest different between Singapore and MM relative to EM is that the latter is a spiral program without expectation of mastery at each step. While Singapore spirals once a year, there is relatively little reteaching of old concepts and the student is expected to master each topic each year. Singapore spirals to expand topics, not remediate or reteach. EM on the other hand emphasizes "exposure" over mastery and it is assumed that kids who don't pick up concepts the first time will do so next time it is retaught. Also, while Singapore and MM encourage conceptual understanding (which is supposed to be EM's strong suit), they also explicitly teach the mechanics of the traditional algorithms. Students don't get the types of choices they do in EM.

:iagree:

 

This is a good assessment of the program. I had direct experience with the program with my 2 ds in a very good public school and I am not impressed with it.

 

Some units move incredibly slowly while others move too rapidly. It needs to be supplemented with skill drills to work effectively. This program probably works for some children but turned my very mathy son off on math completely due to its heavy emphasis on learning math through group discovery activities and on writing.

 

Everyday Math and similar programs like Investigations are very popular in ps right now but I think there are much better choices for hs both for student learning and for ease of teaching.

 

Here's a long thread from the After school board on EM.

[Dana]

I don't have any proof, but I've just graded the first batch of tests from what's effectively an algebra I course at the cc. For the first time in my 14 years of teaching, I have students who can't divide two decimals. I have a number of students (over 10 out of 60) who couldn't subtract correctly without a calculator.

 

Seeing the way two students did the decimal division, I think it's an alternate algorithm from Everyday Math (districts in this area use it).

 

It was the worst test I've given... and I'm amazed at how many of the students can't do basic math without the calculator (and for some of the problems, these are things my son in Singapore 3A can do). :glare:

[bbrandonsmom]

Thank you, and for the after school link as well.

[Paintedlady]

I tutor a boy used this last year in public school. I think I still have an eye-twitch from looking through that book. The pages were absolutely jammed with colors and print and pictures and graphs, and there were so many different ideas being presented on every page that it made my head hurt. I'm not a fan.

[EKS]

Everyday Math and others like it (TERC Investigations is one) were developed in response to the "cookbook" math programs of the 70s and 80s. They tried to use Asian math programs as a model, but unfortunately, they didn't get it quite right. For example, they seemed to get that learning several methods for solving problems is good, but they omitted teaching the standard algorithms. Asian programs generally introduce kids to several methods for solving problems, including mental methods, and *then* teach the standard algorithm (cookbook math starts and ends with the algorithm). In addition, a critical thing they couldn't import from Asia was the math education level of the teachers. Even if we were to place Singapore math into every classroom in the country, it wouldn't solve the fundamental problem: An overwhelming number of elementary level teachers in this country simply don't have what Liping Ma calls a "profound understanding of fundamental mathematics." Ed schools need to make mathematics training a priority with year+ long courses designed to instill that profound understanding in their graduates. Until this happens, no curriculum, no matter how good, is going to help much.

[Firestar Academy]

in my district they have been using everyday math for years.

 

they just recently discovered that the kids who had been 'brought up' with it are failing all the 'tests' given them. ALL OF THEM.. They encourage the use of calculators starting in the 4th grade..

 

This is the first year they chose a different cirriculum.

 

robin in NJ

[linders]

The teacher's manual has words to the effect that memorizing math facts (additon, subtraction, multiplication, division) is unnecesssary because kids can always use calculators. The emphasis on estimates rather than correct answers is appalling. A friend who teaches middle school was discouraged when he had to spend 6th grade teaching kids who had grown up with EM how to do basic computation. He helped lead the team selecting a new math program for our school district in Washington State.

 

Don't go there.

[Mallorie]

My kids were required to use calculators in 2nd grade with EM.

 

I have heard that if it is implemented correctly, with very well trained teachers, it can work.

 

For us, Everyday Math ended our public school career. We switched them to a parochial that uses Saxon two years ago, to now homeschooling.

 

I do NOT recommend it for any learning style...period.

[skueppers]

My nephew's public school used this. In the sixth grade, the kids were remediated by a teacher who gave a course on "traditional math".

 

I also spoke with someone who recently switched her child from a private school using EM to our (very good) local public schools. She was apparently the best math student in her private school class, but was way behind what fifth graders in her new school were expected to be able to do.

[Sandy in Indy]

EM is hands down the WORST math program I have ever seen. Run far away!

[nansk]

...Even if we were to place Singapore math into every classroom in the country, it wouldn't solve the fundamental problem: An overwhelming number of elementary level teachers in this country simply don't have what Liping Ma calls a "profound understanding of fundamental mathematics." Ed schools need to make mathematics training a priority with year+ long courses designed to instill that profound understanding in their graduates. Until this happens, no curriculum, no matter how good, is going to help much.

 

Kai,

 

Your post just made me curious; if homeschooling parents can teach SM to their kids with the help of the HIG, why cannot math teachers use the IG (or whatever classroom guide that comes with SM) to teach?

[OlgaLA]

I am seriously considering taking my daughter out of school right now just because of EM. I mean, how many years can you spend learning that 3+4=7??? And how to read 5:30 on the clock? She is in the third grade, BTW, and these were assignments were in her homework. The rest was equally "challenging". Even putting methodology aside, it is a very weak program.

[bbrandonsmom]

Kai,

 

Your post just made me curious; if homeschooling parents can teach SM to their kids with the help of the HIG, why cannot math teachers use the IG (or whatever classroom guide that comes with SM) to teach?

 

Perhaps it's a time thing? For example, my cousin had 1 week to teach the other teachers the new math standard before school started. If it had been something like Singapore, I think they would have needed more than 1 week, which comes down to funding to pay for training, right? As parents, we can take all the time we need to review the lesson etc, to be able to teach it.

 

I have another question about EM. What about how it applies to gifted though? Is the EM in other schools being taught in gifted or regular classes? The EM being taught here is in all day gifted program. Will that make a difference in understand when the kids switch to regular math in middle school?

[regentrude]

.

 

I have another question about EM. What about how it applies to gifted though? Is the EM in other schools being taught in gifted or regular classes? The EM being taught here is in all day gifted program. Will that make a difference in understand when the kids switch to regular math in middle school?

 

Even gifted students need practice in doing arithmetic fast and efficiently.

If the program does not teach this, they may have a good understanding of the underlying principles, but still won't be able to do long division if it is deemed "a waste of class time".

[EKS]

Kai,

 

Your post just made me curious; if homeschooling parents can teach SM to their kids with the help of the HIG, why cannot math teachers use the IG (or whatever classroom guide that comes with SM) to teach?

 

They could. And over time they might develop the understanding they need to become good math teachers.

 

But being a good math teacher is more than just following a sequence of steps (as laid out in a guide). It means being able to correct faulty thinking and being able to see when the thinking isn't faulty, just different. It means being able to think up examples on the fly that accurately represent the concept being learned. And, very importantly, it means knowing where it all is going and how it is going to be applied there (algebra, geometry, science).

 

What I say here doesn't just apply to school teachers, it applies to homeschooling parents as well.

[skueppers]

I do think gifted kids can have different educational needs, and that a math program emphasizing conceptual understanding is often appropriate for gifted children.

 

I suspect that Everyday Math can be successfully implemented for gifted kids. My understanding is that the publisher provides information for teachers on how to do this, but how well it is done would depend very much on the school and the teachers. They certainly couldn't just pull out the standard grade level book and start teaching the lessons as written.

 

If I had a kid in that school, I would be making sure she knew, and had practice in, the standard algorithms as well as the algorithms emphasized in Everyday Math.

 

Everyday Math only goes up to sixth grade, so that's one major reason why the middle school wouldn't be using it.

[....]

Hi, bbrandonsmom...like everyone said, stay away from that math program. I can't tell if you are homeschooling and looking for a math program, but there is a book called Cathy Duffy's Top 100 Homeschool Curriculum Picks that reviews different math programs and the type of kids that benefit from different programs.

 

Off the top of my head, in case you're browsing math curricula online...here's some pretty good math programs - you can buy all these on different sites online:

 

Saxon Math

Math-U-See

Singapore Math

Math Mammoth

Horizons Math

Singapore Math

CLE Math (www.clp.org)

 

There are other programs out there that work great with different kids...but stay away from Everyday Math. If you already know all this, just disregard my post. lol!

 

Good luck with Math! :001_smile:

[nmoira]

you can buy all these on different sites online

 

Saxon Math

Math-U-See

Singapore Math

Math Mammoth

Horizons Math

Singapore Math

CLE Math

 

MEP is free, but is nevertheless an excellent and engaging program. I chosen it over Singapore for DD the Younger (after experience with Right Start and Singpore with DD the Elder).

[regentrude]

 

Everyday Math only goes up to sixth grade, so that's one major reason why the middle school wouldn't be using it.

 

Yes, but the Middle school might be using "Connected Math" which is the same kind of curriculum (and ultimately caused us to withdraw the kids from ps)