Do you know about the 5 Strands of Math Proficiency from the research “Adding it Up”?
This research breaks down what it means to be proficient in math through the 5 strands of Math Proficiency.
On Honest Math Chat podcast, I’ve broken down each of the 5 strands of math proficiency to help you start to implement in your classroom . Below you’ll find the links to both the overview of the 5 Strands of Math Proficiency & each strand.
Click the images below to listen to the episodes!
What is Math Proficiency?
Have you ever sat in a data meeting staring at your students’ data feeling overwhelmed?
Let me tell you a quick story.
I started my career as a ½ multiage teacher then taught first grade for a year– oh my goodness there is a lot of energy and singing in 1st grade. Anyway, after 4 years in ½ I was moved to 3r grade. When my principal told me about the move I instantly panicked. 3rd grade is the first testing year and I was terrified. Fast forward to the PD week prior to the start of my first year teaching 3rd grade we had a data meeting. The state test scores from the previous spring were printed out into thick packets and placed on the table in front of each 3rd and 4th grade teacher. We were asked to flip through and make notices and wonderings.
I was sick.
The scores were terrible. I had no idea what it meant and how to help improve it
Have you ever felt that way?
For the next 10 years, I’ve looked at data and felt very similar to how I felt in that first data meeting. Less tears, but the same questions…
What does it even mean? How do we help?
I recently had that feeling when I looked at the report from the National Report Card or NAEP scores. This is an educational assessment that was started in the early 1990s and they test 4th & 8th graders. The test is given by federal officials, its more rigorous than most state tests and given to nearly 450,000 fourth and eighth graders in more than 10,000 schools between January and March.
Keep reading about math proficiency...
Conceptual Understanding
Conceptual understanding is a comprehension of mathematical concepts, operations, and relations.
This means the understanding goes beyond isolated facts and methods.Students understand why the mathematical idea is important and the contexts in which it is useful.
Conceptual understanding means you know what math symbols, diagrams and procedures MEAN.
This leads to retention because if they forget a process or algorithm, they can figure it out again relying on their conceptual understanding.
Keep reading about conceptual understanding...
Procedural Understanding
Procedural fluency is defined as skill in carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently, and appropriately
Procedural fluency supports conceptual understanding.
You can think of this as the methods. Methods that include mental methods, methods with manipulatives or calculators, written procedures.
It is essential that students can do basic computation without the need to draw it out, use a table, etc. This relies on procedural fluency, to be able to compute written and mentally with all 4 operations fluency.
Accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility are key. Students should use procedures to carry out computation efficiently and result in correct answers. But also apply procedures flexibility to solve problems.
keep reading about procedural understanding...
Adaptive Reasoning
Our capacity for logical thought, reflection, explanation, and justification
This is when students navigate through facts, procedures, math concepts, and solution pathways to see if they fit together in away that makes any kind of sense.
We see adaptive reasoning when students justify their work.
Adaptive reasoning takes over the problem solving process when students are determining “why” they are doing something– when they decide if their strategy is valid, determine if a procedure is appropriate.
keep reading about adaptive reasoning...
Strategic Competence
Strategic competence is the ability to formulate, represent, and solve mathematical problems
This means you can take a situation and turn it into a solvable problem that can be represented by a mathematical model. This means using the mathematical skills to produce a solution and then interpreting and evaluation the solution in context of the problem.
Formulate: taking the math context and forming it into something that can be a mathematical problem
Represent: showing the mathematical thinking by selecting appropriate concepts and procedures
Solve: monitor progress in a solution pathway & change direction as needed. Interpret results and explain why makes sense
This occurs with real world problems.
keep reading about strategic competence...
Productive Disposition
he habits and mindset to see math as useful and worthwhile, along with the belief that with diligence they can achieve and make sense of math.
Self efficacy – an individual’s belief in his or her capacity to execute behaviors necessary to produce specific performance attainments.
This is your math classroom community