New Curriculum Adds Fun to Math Class

Even before Ramiro Juarez could fully finish his question, the little hands of his students were already shooting into the air.

Juarez, a third-grade teacher at Plainfield Elementary School, has been using District 62's new math curriculum implemented this school year.

"They like the structure of the program," he said. "It goes from one step to the next to the next and while you're on the third step, it's going back to the first at the same time. They're almost getting retaught the same thing over again."

The Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley enVision MATH software provides interactive and visual learning for the students, officials said. Administrators unanimously selected the program for kindergarten through fifth-grade classes after a two-year process.

As an added bonus, Juarez's classroom has a SMART Board, an interactive white board where students can write, draw, count objects and complete their calculations.

The students have responded well to the program, Juarez said. The software doesn't just teach a concept and move on to a totally different lesson; it reinforces what the students are learning as they go along, he said.

"And that's nice, compared to other programs where they just teach you one thing and you go to the next lesson, and it's completely new and different than what you did before," he added.

Add the new software to the SMART Board technology and the result is a chorus of "Me!" whenever Juarez asks who wants to the do the next problem.

The students take turns using what is essentially a large touch-screen display board, moving around objects to solve a problem and writing out their answers with a special pen while their classmates provide input if anyone runs into trouble. They also play games and have classroom competitions, Juarez said.

"Oh, they love it," he said. "Anything that is new technology and they can use their hands and fingers and draw on and not get yelled at, they love that. They've been reacting really well to that."

The district is working on getting more SMART Boards into classrooms, said Jan Rashid, assistant superintendent for instructional services. Meanwhile, the software is versatile enough to be used with students' laptops, laptops attached to LCD projectors, document cameras or just plain old-fashioned pen and paper.

"Whatever the technology capability is in [our teachers'] classroom, they are able to access that," Rashid said.

The software includes e-textbooks that are available online, as well as grades, test scores and assignments that students and parents can access at home. But the faculty doesn't assume that students have Internet access at home to utilize the online tools and physical textbooks are still available, Rashid added.

"So we're not taking anything away there," she said. "We don't ever expect that all parents have a computer in their home. So we don't have that expectation and we always provide for students who don't."

Administrators expect that the new program will have a positive effect on math test scores, as students seem to be more receptive to interactive learning. The district "has been pleased with our math scores," Rashid said. "Our students are progressing and growing, and we definitely looked at the program as being strong."

Juarez said he has noticed his students seem to be retaining more information and are more eager to learn.

"Being able to interact with something just keeps them interacting more and more --  and keeps their attention more," he said. "It makes them want to learn more."