NSF PR 96-72 - November 20, 1996
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Interactive Math Makes for Active Learning in Philadelphia
NSF Materials Challenge Urban
Students, but the Decision to Use Them Is a Local
One
Students who might not be expected to perform well
in mathematics are beating the odds in the Philadelphia
public schools -- passing challenging courses at rates
20 to 30 percent higher than their peers -- using
materials developed with support from the National
Science Foundation (NSF).
The successes are particularly striking at Ben Franklin
High School, a typical inner city school where 62
percent of the 9th grade students enrolled in the
Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP) passed math.
The passing rate for students in traditional math
courses hovers at 40 percent. Nearly 84 percent of
the IMP students passed science as compared to 52
percent of other students.
Luther S. Williams, the head of NSF's education and
human resources directorate, said the IMP results
prove that the U.S. can achieve the national education
goal of global preeminence in math and science despite
U.S. students' middling performance on the Third International
Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
A variety of education reform projects supported by
the NSF, he pointed out, include a body of materials
to effectively teach sophisticated math and science
to students at all grade levels, regardless of their
race or economic background.
But, Williams added, the IMP findings also confirm
NSF's belief that effective education reform -- based
on national standards for math and science teaching
-- requires a national consensus on the goals of math
and science education. NSF also believes that the
U.S. educational system is a uniquely decentralized
one when compared to other nations in the TIMSS study
so the impetus to change must come from the state
and local level.
"Simply put," Williams said, "the existence of exemplary
and effective materials alone will not improve the
odds of better practices and more learning by all
students. The decision to use those materials rests
with state and local educators."
The success of the IMP materials in Philadelphia is
especially encouraging in light of the data contained
in Pursuing Excellence, which reports
that U.S. math teaching generally is devoid of challenging
content. U.S. students perform at, rather than above,
the international average in such mathematically dependent
subjects as chemistry and physics.
Demonstrating a strong compatibility with the "best
practices" of high-achieving nations in the TIMSS
study, the IMP materials are designed to eliminate
tracking, or the assignment of students to courses
on the basis of perceived abilities. IMP materials
change the way that math is taught so that in any
given school year students may concurrently learn
concepts from geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and
discrete mathematics.
The IMP materials also develop a range of skills in
various areas of math, including how to use math to
communicate and how to use computers and graphing
calculators -- handheld devices put the calculating
and graphical power of an early microcomputer into
a student's hands -- as mathematical tools.
Although designed primarily to improve math and science
education, IMP instruction also appears to have a
broader ripple effect on overall academic success,
with 74 percent of the IMP students passing English,
according to officials in Philadelphia, as compared
with 52 percent of the students who take traditional
math.
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