Sisters schools shoot for stronger math skills

Teachers are changing the way "'Rithmetic" is taught in Sisters schools. The changes come as educators statewide call for strengthening Oregon students' math skills.

Last month Sisters teachers won approval from the school board to change the district's math curriculum. New books were authorized that are part of a math learning system that provides better continuity from one grade level to the next.

The system chosen for grades three through eight is called the "Saxon Adoption." In the simplest terms, the system couples old-fashioned teaching methods with constant review and work assignments dealing with previously covered material.

But, Saxon is only part of what could end up being a whole new curriculum in Sisters.

Tricia Biesman, who teaches math in grades 6,7 and 8, is an expert in "Visual Math." She's been teaching this approach for years and travels the nation every summer teaching visual math techniques to other teachers. She believes visual math should be used more widely and involve more grades, but she does not see it as the "be all, end all" system.

With her fellow teachers, she favors a curriculum that blends the Saxon approach and visual math.

"Some teachers like Saxon because it is easy. The students don't need the teacher," she said. "The teacher tells students the rules and the kids do assignments -- usually only two or three from the day's lesson and several from previous lessons."

Visual math, she said, requires a higher level of thinking -- it is "hands-on" problem solving. Students are presented a problem, often involving something visual, and they are not told the rules of solving it. They are challenged to be creative and come up with their own solutions or formulas.

"A teacher is a facilitator of learning, not a dispenser of knowledge," Biesman said.

Biesman used the example of discovering the surface area and volume of a cube. A box with sides of equal size is presented to the students. The assignment is to design a packaging cover for the box. What are the dimensions?

Visual math is a progressive learning process, moving from relatively simple solutions to the more complex, using what the students learned on the first step to carry them to the next.

Sisters teachers are now working to combine the Saxon and visual math systems. Visual math is taught on Monday and Friday. Kids take home visual math assignments on the weekend and review the results on Monday. The weekend gives them time to be more creative in finding their answers. The three days in the middle of the week are devoted to Saxon to reinforce what the students have learned.

Superintendent Steve Swisher, himself a former math teacher, is encouraged by the work being done by Biesman and the other teachers. He said systems for all grade levels are being studied and perfected. They will be held up to state standards to make certain the courses address all requirements.