MATHEMATICS

Mathematics

Our Lady of Peace Catholic School believes in teaching all students to become mathematically proficient. 

 

The program is grounded in the belief that all students learn important mathematical concepts, skills and relationships with understanding. 

 

Through mathematics students learn the processes of problem solving, reasoning and proof, communication, connections and representation. 

 

Our Lady of Peace adopted the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards in Mathematics and the 2010 English Language Arts Standards that include literacy in technical subjects for the alignment of the mathematics curriculum.

 

BEST PRACTICE IN TEACHING MATHEMATICS

 

Each mathematics teacher strives to increase the use of best practice in teaching mathematics through:

 

1. Teaching Practices: 

  • Using manipulative materials and math related tools
  • Grouping students for cooperative work
  •  Justifying thinking and reasoning
  • Questioning and making conjectures
  • Writing about mathematics
  • Solving problems 
  • Integrating content

2. Problem Solving:

  • Using word problems with a variety of structures and solution paths
  • Applying everyday problems
  • Providing open-ended problems and extended problem solving projects
  • Investigating and formulation questions from problem situations

3. Communication:

  • Discussing mathematics
  • Reading, writing and listening to mathematical ideas

4. Reasoning:

  • Drawing logical conclusions
  • Justifying answers and processes
  • Reasoning inductively and deductively

 5. Connections:

  • Connecting mathematics to other subjects and to the real world
  • Connecting topics within mathematics
  • Applying mathematics to life situations

6. Numbers/operations computation:

  • Developing number and operation sense
  • Understanding the meaning of key concepts such as: place value, fractions, decimals, ratios, proportions and percent
  • Estimating strategies
  • Thinking strategies for basic facts
  • Using calculators for complex computation

7. Geometry:

  • Developing spatial sense
  • Measuring and the concepts related to units of measure
  • Using geometry in problem solving

8. Data Analysis and Probability:

  • Understanding statistics/probability
  • Collecting and organizing data
  • Using statistical methods to describe, analyze, evaluate and make decisions
  • Developing and using tables, graphs and rules to describe situations

9. Algebra:

  • Recognizing patterns and describing patterns
  • Identifying and using functional relationships
  • Using variables to express relationships

10. Ongoing assessment and evaluation:

  • Having assessment be an integral part of teaching
  • Focusing on a broad range of tasks and taking a holistic view of mathematics
  • Developing problem situations that require applications of a number of mathematical ideas
  • Using a variety of assessment techniques