Less is More

Laurie and I were just in two math workshops at LFCC which reinforced the need to clarify and prioritize skills and content.  The current emphasis seems to be the process goals from the state, and the notion of "less is more" while making connections.   In other words, choose wisely.  Less homework, less problems given to prove basic mastery, and more problem solving or projects that involve flexible thinking and multiple strategies to arrive at a solution. It was recommended to choose word problems that allow curriculum to be spiraled and embedded within other skills rather than being isolated.  Students are then doing problem solving that mirrors real life and are getting repeated exposure to skills and content.  The instructor had us work on one scenario that took his students 4 days to solve, but it had about 4 or 5 skills that were covered.  I think our school is moving in the right direction with number talks and conceptual math learning with multiple step problem solving.