Northwest Regional Center

Spring 2004

Implementation of a Reformed Mathematics Curriculum: Oregon Achievement Results by Camille L. Wainwright, Ph.D., Pacific University, and Jeffrey Frykholm, University of Colorado, was published in The Oregon Mathematics Teacher: Here are excerpts from the article.

“We have an obligation to provide students with the best possible opportunities to gain mathematical literacy. All of our students, regardless of their economic, cultural, or linguistic backgrounds, deserve the opportunity to learn powerful mathematics, since ‘…making decisions in one’s personal life, on the job, and in matters of public interest, calls increasingly for quantitatively sophisticated reasoning. More than ever before, today’s students need to learn to reason and communicate using mathematical ideas.’¹

“… notable about the findings in this study is the way in which teachers are growing over time with respect to their validations of IMP institutes in which they have participated. Moreover, it appears to be the case that gains in student achievement are growing in parallel. That is, although there were no significant differences in student test scores in the previous iteration of this study (2000–01 data), there were statistically significant gains this year. Taken together, the data represented in this report suggests that the IMP curriculum is in fact an increasingly valuable asset in helping learners exceed Oregon Content Standards and Benchmarks. These results suggest the need for wider dissemination of programs like IMP that hold the potential to impact the pedagogical preparation and practices of mathematics teachers, as well as the proficiency and achievement of learners in mathematics classrooms.”

1. Brendefur, The Mathematics Teacher Belief Inventory (1999).

Spring 2002

The submission below includes a teacher’s reflection on her first year of teaching IMP. We hope this reflection will refresh and renew your teaching spirit.

A teacher’s perspective
My first experience with the Interactive Mathematics Program curriculum was at a summer institute. I had just recently been hired in the district, and was interested in this “other” math route for our students. Initially, I was a bit hesitant with some of the philosophies of the program. The idea of letting a classroom full of students run loose and discover their way into conjectures and rules seemed truly frightening. During this first summer institute, we were asked to take a survey regarding our ideals about teaching math. I found myself agreeing that students need a connection to the material, and that it should relate to their needs and daily life. However, I could not let go of the idea that they need to be guided or told how to do things.

From the get go, I was really into the material and found it valuable information to learn, and very exciting. I knew that my own enthusiasm would be contagious and that kids would enjoy participating in the activities as well. The curriculum and the way the lessons are structured around a long-term goal, often with a story or fun situation, were enough to lure me into wanting to attempt teaching it.

Since having taught the IMP curriculum for six months, I have found my level of job satisfaction has greatly increased. I look forward to the next day and can hardly wait to share the new, fresh material with my students. They constantly tell me how much they enjoy the class. The students’ positive attitudes toward the class truly make it a joy to teach. I have also learned to allow for independent learning. I have found that I do not have to tell them how to perform certain algorithms or what approach to use. These students are finding excitement in realizing a new concept all by themselves for the first time. It makes them feel smart to find something out or discover a property all on their own (or with the help of a group).

Nicole Barker, first year IMP teacher
Tigard High School, Tigard, OR

Fall 2001

IMP-NW has expanded its IMP sites this year with the addition of the entire Tacoma School district, West Seattle, and another school in the Hillsboro Oregon area (Glencoe High School). This adds seven more high schools and ten more middle schools to our region! The Tacoma district has adopted IMP as their sole math curriculum for their high schools, which added 90 teachers, counselors, and administrators to our summer IMP 1 inservice. Key Curriculum was generous and helped us out with some free goodies for the participants (like T-shirts, supplemental books, and posters). Tacoma went through a year-long selection process before deciding on IMP. One of the deciding factors for Tacoma was the professional development program that IMP-NW offers teachers who implement IMP. Needless to say, we are pleased that they chose IMP.

Spring 2001

A parent from one of the IMP-NW schools was recently talking about how much his daughter was enjoying IMP and how glad he was that she was given it as an option. When asked to put something in writing, he responded with the following letter:

To Whom it May Concern:

It is always a difficult decision in helping your child decide what classes to take at the high school level. As a parent, you are suddenly put into a position where your kid may be taking classes at a level out of reach of your ability to help. That idea crossed my mind as my kids got along with their math classes in school. When my daughter entered Tigard High, she was offered the choice of traditional math or the IMP program. Based on my own experience (back in the olden days…), I was thinking she would take the traditional math program–even though we had a history of struggling through middle school math. Fortunately for my daughter, she is strong-willed, and charted her course through the IMP series. She is now in her third year of IMPmath. Both math curricula will successfully teach kids math. I have observed that the IMP program differs in the way that math is presented. In our case, we have seen the stark difference between a kid that disliked and minimized math, to one that is enthused about the discovery of math concepts, and the direct and timely application of those new-found concepts in figuring out complex problems. I recall from my own days at school how much better I learned if a subject was presented in an interesting and stimulating way—versus a dry lecture. The upshot for us is that our daughter now likes math, and is successful at it. I quickly came to realize that the biggest obstacle to the IMP series is the fear of the unknown–by both parents and students. IMP is not “Math Lite”; kids will finish the program with skills and capabilities equal to those that complete the traditional program. From an adult perspective, I have also observed that IMP teaches kids to apply math as needed in a real workplace environment. (In my work history, I have yet for a boss to hand me a math equation to solve. Instead, typically, a situation arises–and you need to decide if and how to apply math as necessary to create a solution.) I see IMP as an ideal fit for kids that plan to go on to college, and for those that move directly into the work world. Don’t overlook IMP as a viable path for your child’s math education. I recommend this program without reservation. Take the time to talk to the Tigard High math teachers to learn more.

Don Foster
Parent

During last August’s Summer Institute, schools were encouraged to create Parent Help brochures that they could give to parents at Family IMP Nights. The vision was that this would be a resource parents could use to help their students be successful in IMP. A copy of Rogue River School District’s Parent Brochure will soon be on the IMP Web site (www.mathimp.org) under Resources.

Fall 2000

Activities can sometimes be enhanced by sharing from teachers’ inservice to directors’ retreat and back to teachers’ inservice. This was accomplished last year when the teachers at the IMP-NW Winter Retreat focused on the mathematics studied within the four years of IMP. Their results were shared with the IMP regional directors at the national retreat where the mathematical content was expanded upon. The next step was for the Northwest IMP directors to share these results back with the original teachers. The entire process gave teachers, teacher-leaders, and directors a broader insight into the mathematics involved in the entire IMP curriculum.

In other news, two high schools in the Portland area—Century High School and Tigard High School—are on 4x4 schedules. For the past few years, their algebra 1 courses have been offered as two-credit classes and have met for 90 minutes, every day, all year long. In order to provide equity between their programs, both schools will also place IMP 1 on this schedule. This will allow the IMP 1 classes at these schools to complete most (if not all) of the supplemental problems from each unit as well as allow them to add Solve It! to Year 1 (Tigard High School will also add It’s All Write to Year 1), and place more emphasis on writing, reflecting, etc. Since Solve It! will be in Year 1, it is hoped that Fireworks will be studied in Year 2.

Spring 1999

Two schools in Tacoma, Washington joined IMP this year: Curtis Junior and Senior High Schools. Having eighth and ninth grade, the junior high school is starting IMP in the eighth grade and will have both IMP 1 and IMP 2 in their building next year. IMP will be the sole curriculum offered. A recent Family IMP night demonstrated the enthusiasm of the community by having an excellent turnout of 180 students and parents.

The Beaverton school district in Oregon will be opening a new high school (Southridge) in the fall. This will mean that four (Westview, Beaverton, and Aloha, as well as Southridge) of the five high schools in the district will be offering IMP.

Fall 1999

IMP-NW just completed its sixth summer institute. This year's institute was held at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. It was made possible by the fact that IMP-NW, in partnership with Pacific, received a one-year $30,000 Eisenhower grant to help up to six Oregon schools offset the professional development costs associated with implementing IMP.

This year IMP-NW will be supporting schools located from southern Oregon to Tacoma, Washington. These schools range from very small-with only one math teacher in the school district-to schools of up to 2,000 students; schools that offer IMP as their sole mathematics curriculum and schools that offer a dual program in mathematics; and schools that are offering IMP Year 1 to eighth graders, as well as schools that are planning honors options for their IMP students.

Spring 1998

IMP-NW is in the midst of a matched-pair study that looks at the success of IMP students as compared to students who were enrolled in the traditional sequence. The study involves a transcript analysis of students enrolled in either IMP or the traditional sequence at the same high school, as well as traditional sequence students from a comparable high school where IMP is not offered. Three different graduating classes are represented in the study-students entering high school as freshmen in 1991, 1992, and 1993.

Pairs of students from the two groups (IMP and the traditional sequence) were matched according to gender and scores received on an eighth-grade test given by the school district. Of the 115 students who enrolled as IMP-1 freshmen in 1991, 107 were able to be matched with the traditional sequence students. With this study, a number of questions will be addressed which are often raised concerning reform curricula in general and IMP in particular. Principal among those questions are those of student persistence in mathematics and student achievement in mathematics. For example, is there a difference between IMP and non-IMP students with regard to how long they continue in and remain successful in high school mathematics classes? Also, how do the two groups compare with regard to grades and SAT scores? Some preliminary results have already come in which are all very exciting for IMP.

Fall 1998

The administration of IMP-NW has grown to include two codirectors. Sue Yabuki, who has been the sole director for the past four years, will be aided this year by Brent McClain. Sue will again be in the classroom part time teaching IMP. She will also be the coordinator of the Institute for Science and Math at her school. Brent will be working full time as a codirector of IMP-NW.

Oregon and Washington continue to implement Standards- based education in their schools. In Oregon, qualifying tenth graders will now receive a Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM). Students must pass multiple-choice and open-ended tests, as well as demonstrate proficiency through classroom work samples.

Both the open-ended test and the classroom work samples are scored using a state scoring guide (i.e., rubric). These requirements have helped motivate many schools to look for new ways of teaching mathematics. Because the integrated nature of IMP and its problem-based approach is such a strong complement for obtaining a CIM, many schools are interested in learning more about IMP and its teaching philosophy.

Initial results of a matched-pair study involving IMP students and students enrolled in the traditional sequence show a greater persistence of IMP students in taking a fourth year of mathematics. More results are forthcoming.

Spring 1997

Northwest IMP is currently working with six schools in Oregon and Washington, serving 30 teachers and 900 students. We project increased participation next year in Olympia, Washington, and other surrounding cities, funded in part by grants from the Intel and Noyce foundations.

This partnership between industry and education is motivated by the need to turn out mathematically-proficient high school students-given the growing role of technology in industry. With IMP, we are finding that more students stay enrolled in mathematics and are more confident about their mathematical abilities.

Fall 1997

Congratulations to Brent McClain, an IMP teacher at Westview High School in Beaverton, Oregon, who was last year's recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching from the state of Oregon. Brent has taught the first three years of IMP at Westview, where the Interactive Mathematics Program has been supported by the Intel and Noyce foundations. This year, Brent has come out of the classroom to help provide support for schools implementing IMP, and also to work on a NSF-sponsored grant to improve teacher training in the state of Oregon.

IMP-NW has added three new schools this fall: River Ridge and North Thurston High Schools in Lacey, Washington, and Century High School in Hillsboro, Oregon. Interest is growing in the region and we continue to work with schools to provide the support necessary to increase and sustain reform in mathematics education. Oregon's education reform law has begun to affect its first students-this year's ninth grade class. Students will now be required to complete a Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM) sometime around their sophomore year. The state of Washington is moving toward similar legislation.

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