Instructional Design

The manner in which students encounter mathematical ideas can contribute significantly to the quality of their learning and the depth of their understanding. Core-Plus Mathematics units are designed around multi-day lessons centered on big ideas. Lessons are organized around cycles of instructional activities intended primarily for small-group work in the classroom and for individual work outside of the classroom.

In-Class Activities

The four-phase cycle of classroom activities, Launch (sample) Explore (sample) Share and Summarize (sample) Apply (sample) is designed to actively engage students in investigating and making sense of problem situations, in constructing important mathematical concepts and methods, in generalizing and proving mathematical relationships, and in communicating, both orally and in writing, their thinking and the results of their efforts. Most classroom activities are designed to be completed by students working collaboratively in groups of two to four students.		Short clips of classrooms are available at Parent Support: CPMP Classrooms.
LAUNCH class discussion Think About This Situation The lesson launch promotes a teacher-led discussion of a problem situation and of related questions to think about. This discussion sets the context for the student work to follow and helps to generate student interest; it also provides an opportunity for the teacher to assess student knowledge and to clarify directions for the investigation to follow. Sample launch		EXPLORE group investigation Investigation Classroom activity then shifts to investigating focused problems and questions related to the launching situation by gathering data, looking for patterns, constructing models and meanings, and making and verifying conjectures. As students collaborate in pairs or small groups, the teacher circulates among students providing guidance and support, clarifying or asking questions, giving hints, providing encouragement, and drawing group members into the discussion to help groups collaborate more effectively. The investigations and related questions posed by students drive the learning. Sample exploration
SHARE AND SUMMARIZE class discussion Summarize the Mathematics This investigative work is followed by a teacher-led class discussion (referred to as Summarize the Mathematics) in which students summarize and explain the reasoning supporting mathematical ideas developed in their groups, providing an opportunity to construct a shared understanding of important concepts, methods, and approaches. This discussion leads to a class summary of important ideas or to further exploration of a topic if competing perspectives remain. Varying points of view and differing conclusions that can be justified should be encouraged. Sample Summarize the Mathematics		APPLY individual tasks Check Your Understanding Students are given a task to complete on their own to check and reinforce their understanding of concepts and methods. Sample Check Your Understanding

Homework: Out-of-Class Activities

In addition to the classroom investigations, Core-Plus Mathematics provides sets of On Your Own tasks, which are designed to engage students in applying, connecting, reflecting on, extending, and reviewing their evolving mathematical knowledge. On Your Own tasks are provided for each lesson in the materials and are central to the learning goals of each lesson. These tasks are intended primarily for individual work outside of class. Selection of homework tasks should be based on student performance and the availability of time and technology. Also, students should exercise some choice of tasks to pursue, and, at times should be given the opportunity to pose their own problems and questions to investigate. The chart below describes the types of tasks in a typical On Your Own set.

Review and Practice
Core-Plus Mathematics includes review tasks in the homework sets. The purpose of the review tasks is two-fold. Some tasks are just-in-time review of concepts and skills needed in the following lesson. These tasks will be designated by a clock icon near the solution. Some tasks provide distributed practice of mathematical skills to maintain procedural fluency. These tasks should be completed outside of class by students. If a few students are identified as needing additional assistance with specific skills, they should be given additional assistance outside of class.

Practicing for Standardized Tests
Opportunities for additional review and practice are provided in the Practicing for Standardized Tests masters in each Unit Resources booklet. Each Practicing for Standardized Tests master presents 10 questions that draw on all content strands. The questions are presented in the form of test items similar to how they often appear in standardized tests such as state assessment tests, the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), SAT, ACT PLAN, or ACT. We suggest using these practice sets following the unit assessment so students can become familiar with the formats of standardized tests and develop effective test-taking strategies for performing well on such tests.

Preparing for Undergraduate Mathematics Placement Tests
Most colleges and universities administer a mathematics placement test to incoming students. The results of this test together with grades in high school mathematics courses and intended undergraduate major are used to advise students regarding the first college mathematics course they study. About half of these post-secondary institutions allow students the use of technology (e.g., a graphing calculator) while completing the test. But you may wish to ensure that your students are prepared to take placement tests with and without technology.
     To perform well on these tests, there are a number of skills and reasoning techniques that need to be automatic. Developing that level of proficiency requires practice. Thus, you will find two Preparing for Undergraduate Mathematics Placement (PUMP) sets in the unit resources for each of the Course 4 units.

Additional Summarizing Activities
In Core-Plus Mathematics, students learn mathematics by doing mathematics. However, it is important that students prepare and maintain summaries of important concepts and methods that are developed. Students should create a Math Toolkit that organizes important class-generated ideas and selected Summarize the Mathematics responses as they complete investigations. Math Toolkit Prompts are provided in this Teacher's Guide to assist in identifying and summarizing key concepts and methods as they are developed by students.
     In addition, the final lesson in each unit is a Looking Back lesson that helps students review and synthesize the key mathematical concepts and techniques developed in the unit. The Summarize the Mathematics questions in this lesson are focused on key ideas of the unit. The Check Your Understanding asks students to prepare a summary of the important concepts and skills developed in the unit. Templates to guide preparation of these unit summaries can be found in the Unit Resource Masters. Completed Unit Summaries should become part of students' Math Toolkits.
     Students should retain their Math Toolkits as they continue on to later courses. In some districts, teachers collect these resources at the end of the school year and return them to students in the fall.