Math Program Getting a Makeover

Scotch Plains-Fanwood Schools' math program is being updated in an effort to improve understanding of the field throughout all school levels. 

Mathematics Supervisor Ralph Pantozzi introduced the new approach, called Vertical Teaming, to the Board of Education last week, explaining that it asks teachers to create activities that will "hook" kids into a topic and that will "anchor" them throughout the coming years. Teachers of all grade levels will now be working together to create more sophisticated tasks that build upon the prior year's activities.

Pantozzi demonstrated by showing the board different activities that pertain to statistics, a subject that he fears has taken a back seat in AP classes behind calculus. He first showed an activity with M&Ms at the lowest grade level, followed by another graph-related task with marbles.

He explained that since the kids had a similar experience the first year with the M&M experiment, they would have an easier time remembering the concept of the marble lesson and ultimately building on it with a higher level of sophistication.

"When we link back to things of interest, they remember," Pantozzi said.

The implementation of Vertical Teaming will not only help students have a better understanding of the subject, but it will also allow students to be introduced to high-level concepts at an earlier age. Pantozzi said that if teachers are able to "open a line of inquiry," they can use age-appropriate tasks in first or second grade to introduce topics like algebra or statistics.

Pantozzi also said that the approach could increase participation in advanced classes later in high school by reinforcing concepts in all grade levels.

Members of the board were supportive of the change.

"It's how we teach, not what we teach," said David Gorbunoff. "That's the direction we should be going in."