TEACHING WITH THE

CORE
A J ourney Toward
Mathematical Understanding,
Focus, and Coherence
Dr. DeAnn Huinker
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
huinker@uwm.edu

Wisconsin Mathematics Council
Mathematical Proficiency for Every Student Conference
Wausau, WI 11 November 2011
J ourney to the Core
Understanding
Focus
Coherence


Shared,
the
same for
everyone
Essential,
fundamental
knowledge
and skills
necessary for
student
success
Adopted
and
maintained
by States;
not a
federal
policy
What
students are
expected to
learn in a
content area,
benchmarks
of learning
Common Core State
Standards
(CCSS)
+
Make sense of problems
Reason quantitatively
Viable arguments & critique
Model with mathematics
Strategic use of tools
Attend to precision
Look for and use structure
Look for regularity in reasoning


K-8 Domains

HS Conceptual Categories

Standards for
Mathematical Practice
Standards for
Mathematics Content
K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 HS
Counting
&
Cardinality



Algebra



Number
and
Quantity

M
o
d
e
l
i
n
g


Operations & Algebraic Thinking


Expressions and
Equations


Number & Operations in Base Ten
The Number System

Number &
Operations
Fractions
Ratios &
Proportional
Relationships

Functions

Measurement & Data

Statistics & Probability


Geometry


Goals
Understand Focus and Coherence
Examine specific Ways of Knowing the
mathematics along standards progressions
Embrace Shifts
content topics
curriculum & assessment
instructional approaches
Great
Moderate
Strong
Magnitude
Major
Small
Minor
Not Felt
How much of a shift is the
Math Common Core for Your
District/School
Curriculum
Teaching
Students
A Long Overdue Shifting of the Foundation
For as long as most of us can remember, the K-12
mathematics program in the U.S. has been aptly
characterized in many rather uncomplimentary
ways: underperforming, incoherent, fragmented,
poorly aligned, narrow in focus, skill-based, and, of
course, a mile wide and an inch deep.
---Steve Leinwand, Principal Research Analyst
American Institutes for Research in Washington, D.C

But hope and change have arrived! Like the long
awaited cavalry, the new Common Core State
Standards for Mathematics (CCSS) presents us
at least those of us in the 44 states+ that have now
adopted them (representing over 80% of the nations
students) a once in a lifetime opportunity to rescue
ourselves and our students from the myriad
curriculum problems weve faced for years.
---Steve Leinwand, Principal Research Analyst
American Institutes for Research in Washington, D.C

Mathematics content
Teaching of mathematics
Student learning of mathematics
Digging in
Consider the discoveries we can
unearth in the standards in regards to:
2NBT9. Explain why addition and subtraction
strategies work, using place value and the
properties of operations.

3OA3. Use multiplication and division within 100
to solve word problems in situations involving
equal groups, arrays, and measurement
quantities, e.g., by using drawings and
equations with a symbol for the unknown
number to represent the problem.
Reflecting

Math
Teaching
Students
4NF2. Compare two fractions with different
numerators and different denominators,
e.g., by creating common denominators or
numerators, or by comparing to a benchmark
fraction such as 1/2. Recognize that
comparisons are valid only when the two
fractions refer to the same whole. Record the
results of comparisons with symbols >, =, or <,
and justify the conclusions, e.g., by using a
visual fraction model.
Reflecting

Math
Teaching
Students
Focus
and
Coherence
For over a decade, research studies of
mathematics education in high-performing
countries have pointed to the conclusion that
the mathematics curriculum in the United
States must become substantially more
focused and coherent in order to improve
mathematics achievement in this country.
CCSS design principles
Focus Coherence
The Hunt Institute Video Series
Common Core State Standards: A New Foundation for Student Success

www.youtube.com/user/TheHuntInstitute#p
Helping Teachers: Coherence and Focus
Dr. William McCallum
Professor of Mathematics, University of Arizona
Lead Writer, Common Core Standards for Mathematics
Discuss In what ways do these
features support Focus and Coherence?
See how ideas at a grade level fit with what
teachers in subsequent grade levels or previous
grade levels are doing.
The standards free up time to do fewer things
more deeply.
Another aspect was to try in certain places to give
more detail than teachers were used to seeing in
standards.
Domains and Clusters
identify unifying
themes within and
across grades
Detail in the
standards make
clear and give
guidance on ways
of knowing the
mathematics
Focus
Critical areas
indicate instructional
time priorities
Grade Domains Clusters Standards
K 5 9 22
1 4 11 21
2 4 10 26
3 5 11 25
4 5 12 28
5 5 11 26
6 5 10 29
7 5 9 24
8 5 10 28
9-12 3-6* 5-15* 15-37*
Unifying Themes Details

Reflects hierarchical
nature and structure of
the discipline.
--Progressions
--Ways of Knowing

Reflects how knowledge
is generated within the
discipline (Practices).


Reflects what is known
about how students
develop mathematical
knowledge.

Reflects learners need
to organize and connect
ideas.
Discipline of
mathematics
Research on students
mathematics learning
Coherence
Progressions for the Common Core
State Standards in Mathematics (draft)
() The Common Core Standards Writing Team
ime.math.arizona.edu/progressions
Comprehensive discussions on the
intent of specific standards,
development within and across
grades, connections across
domains, and suggested
instructional approaches.

Ways of Knowing
the mathematics
The Hunt Institute Video Series
Common Core State Standards: A New Foundation for Student Success

www.youtube.com/user/TheHuntInstitute#p
Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Dr. Jason Zimba
Professor of Physics and Mathematics
Bennington College, Vermont
Lead Writer, Common Core Standards for Mathematics
Operations and Algebraic
Thinking (OA)
Number and
Operations
Fractions
(NF)
Number and Operations in
Base Ten (NBT)
K 1 2 3 4 5
Algebra


High School
Expressions
and Equations
(EE)
Number
System (NS)


6 7 8
Discuss insights and implications
The number strand has often been a single strand
in elementary school, but in CCSS it is actually
three domains.
Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division
have meanings, mathematical properties, and uses
that transcend the particular sorts of objects that
one is operating on, whether those be multi-digit
numbers or fractions or variables or variables
expressions.

Properties of the
Operations
Contextual
Situations
Meanings of the
Operations


The foundation for algebra!

Properties of the
Operations
Contextual
Situations
Meanings of the
Operations


The foundation for algebra!

72 29 = ?
Mental Math
Solve in your head.
No pencil or paper!
24 x 25 = ?
72 29 = ? 24 x 25 = ?
Turn and share your reasoning.
Discuss how you used:
Composing and decomposing
Place value in base ten
Properties of the operations
24 x 25 = ?

I thought
24 x 100 = 2400,
and 2400 4 = 600.

I thought 25 x 25 = 625 and then I
subtracted 25. 625 25 = 600.
I figured that there are
4 twenty-fives in 100,
and there are 6 fours
in 24, so 100 x 6 =
600.
24 x 25 = ?
25 x 4 = 100,
6 x 100 = 600,
600 + 100 = 700.
Well, 10 x 25 = 250,
2(10 x 25) = 500,
500 x 4 = 2000.

I would try to
multiply in my head,
but I can't do that.

The properties of operations.
Associative property of addition (a + b) + c = a + (b + c)
Commutative property of addition a + b = b + a
Additive identity property of 0 a + 0 = 0 + a = a
Existence of additive inverses For every a there exists a so
that a + (a) = (a) + a = 0
Associative property of multiplication (a b) c = a (b c)
Commutative property of
multiplication
a b = b a
Multiplicative identity property of 1 a 1 = 1 a = a
Existence of multiplicative inverses For every a 0 there exists
1/a so that a 1/a = 1/a a = 1
Distributive property of multiplication
over addition
a (b + c) = a b + a c

And in the domain of Operations and Algebraic
Thinking, it is those meanings, properties, and uses
which are the focus; and it is those meanings,
properties, and uses that will remain when students
begin doing algebra in middle grades [and beyond].
--Jason Zimba
In Grades K-8, how many standards
reference properties of the operations?

28
standards

Grade 1: OA, NBT
Grade 2: NBT
Grade 3: OA, NBT
Grade 4: NBT, NF
Grade 5: NBT
Grade 6: NS, EE
Grade 7: NS, EE
Grade 8: NS
12% of K-8 standards

Using properties of operations
1OA3. Apply properties of operations as strategies to
add and subtract.
3OA5. Apply properties of operations as strategies to
multiply and divide.
4NBT5. Multiply two two-digit numbers using strategies
based on place value and the properties of operations.
5NBT6. Find whole-number quotients and remainders with
using strategies based on place value, properties of
operations .
5NBT7. Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to
hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and
strategies based on place value, properties of operations.

6EE3. Apply the properties of operations to
generate equivalent expressions.
7NS2c: Apply properties of operations as
strategies to multiply and divide rational numbers.
7EE1. Apply properties of operations as
strategies to add, subtract, factor, and expand
linear expressions with rational coefficients.
and into high school

Develop and
use strategies
based on properties
of the operations
CCSS Glossary
Computation strategy
Purposeful manipulations that may be chosen for
specific problems, may not have a fixed order,
and may be aimed at converting one problem
into another.
Computation algorithm
A set of predefined steps applicable to a class of
problems that gives the correct result in every
case when the steps are carried out correctly.
In Grades K-8, how many standards
reference using strategies?

26
standards

Grade K: CC
Grade 1: OA, NBT
Grade 2: OA, NBT
Grade 3: OA, NBT
Grade 4: NBT, NF
Grade 5: NBT
Grade 7: NS, EE
11% of K-8 standards

Standard 1OA6: Basic Facts
Add and subtract within 20, demonstrating fluency for
addition and subtraction within 10.
Use strategies such as counting on; making ten (e.g.,
8 + 6 = 8 + 2 + 4 = 10 + 4 = 14); decomposing a
number leading to a ten (e.g., 13 4 = 13 3 1 = 10
1 = 9); using the relationship between addition and
subtraction (e.g., knowing that 8 + 4 = 12, one knows
12 8 = 4); and creating equivalent but easier or
known sums (e.g., adding 6 + 7 by creating the known
equivalent 6 + 6 + 1 = 12 + 1 = 13).

Standard 3OA5: Basic Facts
Apply properties of operations as strategies to
multiply and divide.
Examples:
If 6 4 = 24 is known, then 4 6 = 24 is also known.
(Commutative property of multiplication.)
3 5 2 can be found by 3 5 = 15, then 15 2 = 30, or
by 5 2 = 10, then 3 10 = 30.
(Associative property of multiplication.)
Knowing that 8 5 = 40 and 8 2 = 16, one can find 8 7
as 8 (5 + 2) = (8 5) + (8 2) = 40 + 16 = 56.
(Distributive property.)
In Grades K-8, how many standards
reference using algorithms?

5
standards

Grade 3: NBT2
Grade 4: NBT4
Grade 5: NBT5
Grade 6: NS2, NS3

2% of K-8 standards

Algorithms
Grade 3 use strategies and algorithms to add and
subtract within 1000. (Footnote: A range of algorithms
may be used.) (3NBT2)
Grade 4 use the standard algorithm to add and
subtract multi-digit whole numbers. (4NBT4)
Grade 5 use the standard algorithm to multiply multi-
digit whole numbers. (5NBT4)
Grade 6 use the standard algorithm to divide multi-
digit numbers and to divide multi-digit decimals.
(6NS2, 6NS3)
Properties of the
Operations
Contextual
Situations
Meanings of the
Operations


The foundation for algebra!

In Grades K-8, how many standards reference
real-world contexts or word problems?

54
standards

Grade K: OA
Grade 1: OA
Grade 2: OA, MD
Grade 3: OA, MD
Grade 4: OA, NF, MD
Grade 5: NF, MD, G
Grade 6: RP, EE, NS, G
Grade 7: RP, EE, NS, G
Grade 8: EE, G 24% of K-8 standards

Talk it over.
Considering the emphasis on
strategies and algorithms,
as well as on properties and contexts,
speculate on some messages the
standards are giving us.
Develop and use strategies
for learning basic facts before any
expectation of knowing facts from memory.

Develop and use strategies to add, subtract,
multiply, and divide multi-digit whole
numbers, fractions, decimals. before use
of standard algorithms.

Strategies first!
Great
Moderate
Major
Small
Minor
Not Felt
Strong
Shifts in
Classroom Practice
Shifts . . . Content

Less data analysis and probability in K-5
More statistics in 6-8 and lots more in HS
Much more emphasis on statistical variability
Less algebraic patterns in K-5
Much more algebraic thinking in K-5
More algebra in 7-8 and functions in 8
th

More geometry in K-HS
Much more transformational geometry in HS.
More focus on Ratio and Proportion beginning in 6th
Percents in 6-7, not in K-5
Shifts Curriculum & Assessment

HS standards as conceptual categories not courses .
supports either integrated or traditional approach
or new models that synthesize both approaches.
Real-world applications, contexts, and problem solving
Strong emphasis on contexts and word problems from K-HS
Use of measurement contexts across domains,
especially linear and liquid contexts
Multi-step Word Problems beginning in Grade 2
Mathematical modeling interwoven throughout HS
Shifts . . . Teaching

Using a unit fraction approach
Understand and use unit fraction reasoning and
language and expect it of our students

Increased emphasis on specific models
Number line model
Area model
Strategies and sense-making before algorithms
Strategies based on properties of the operations
Algorithms culminate years of prior work
Jot down two discoveries
that you want to discuss
with colleagues.
And so in closing
Focus: Unifying themes
and guidance on ways of
knowing the mathematics.
Coherence: Progressions
based on mathematics
and student learning.
Understanding: Deep, genuine
understanding of mathematics
and ability to use that knowledge
in real-world situations.

So I really hope these standards will help
teachers be more creative in the classroom,
engender the mathematical practices,
and free up time to really focus on
teaching mathematics.
--Bill McCallum


Please keep digging, there are more
discoveries in the Core to unearth and
we know that the work we are all doing
is important for Wisconsin students, for
their learning and understanding of
mathematics, and for their futures.


Thank you!

Understanding
Focus
Coherence
Resources
CCSSM Resources
www.dpi.wi.gov/standards/ccss.html
www.mmp.uwm.edu
Quick link: CCSS Resources
www.tinyurl.com/CCSSresources
commoncoretools.wordpress.com
ime.math.arizona.edu/progressions
www.youtube.com/user/TheHuntInstitute#p
www.corestandards.org
Video Series: William McCallum and Jason Zimba
lead writers of the CCSSM (The Hunt Institute)
The Mathematics Standards: How They Were Developed and Who Was Involved
The Mathematics Standards: Key Changes in Their Evidence
The Importance of Coherence in Mathematics
The Importance of Focus in Mathematics
The Importance of Mathematical Practices
Mathematical Practices, Focus and Coherence in the Classroom
Whole Numbers to Fractions in Grades 3-6
Operations and Algebraic Thinking
The Importance of Mathematics Progressions
The Importance of Mathematics Progressions from the Student Perspective
Gathering Momentum for Algebra
Mathematics Fluency: A Balanced Approach
Ratio and Proportion in Grades 6-8
Shifts in Math Practice: The Balance Between Skills and Understanding
The Mathematics Standards and the Shifts They Require
Helping Teachers: Coherence and Focus
High School Math Courses


www.youtube.com/user/TheHuntInstitute#p

Reference
Watanabe, T. (2007). Initial treatment of fractions in
Japanese textbooks. Focus on Learning Problems in
Mathematics, 29(2), 41-60.
The End