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Integrated Math fosters students' critical thinking skills

Integrated Math fosters students' critical thinking skills

By Robert Missonis, Assistant Head of School and Head of Middle School

Integrated Math weaves together Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Precalculus, and Statistics in an organic sequence, enabling students to connect concepts in real time through both mathematical and real-world applications.

This fall, the math faculty unveiled Stuart’s new Integrated Math curriculum in grades 7 and 9, and I am eager to share some of its key benefits. Recently, I had the opportunity to pop into Annie McGonigle’s Math 3+4 class, an accelerated class for ninth graders. 

Stuart’s math faculty has been working for over eighteen months, studying schools - including Sacred Heart School of Halifax and fellow NJAIS institutions -  that have successfully implemented this new approach. They have been designing the curriculum and order of topics to meet our girls where they are by providing them with significant challenges and new ways to think about math. Organizing the curriculum in this way creates many opportunities to increase efficiency: the lessons build upon each other and provide students with more exposure and mastery of topics. This sequence will also allow our strongest math students to take multivariable calculus—a third year college course—by their senior year.

Research from the University of Missouri published in The Journal for Research in Mathematics Education demonstrated that students studying in an integrated math curriculum outscored their peers on standardized tests. More importantly, research also suggests that students have a deeper understanding of math concepts and can see the connections to future topics.  Integrated Mathematics will challenge Stuart students to engage in critical thinking and problem-solving, moving beyond rote memorization and repetitive copying of solutions provided by the teacher. Instead, students will be encouraged to actively apply their understanding to new and diverse problems.

While the seventh grade will also be pioneering this curriculum after they complete their first unit, it was exciting to watch the ninth grade fully immersed in it. During these opening weeks, they focused on functions and their inverses, which encouraged students to apply real-life contexts to mathematical problems. The unit culminated in a performance task that established a connection to their science courses, particularly emphasizing concepts from physics. By the end of the week, they will be on to exploring logarithmic functions.  

Ms. McGonigle shared that while the new curriculum asks for students to think differently and more critically as they make connections, she sees the students engaged and challenged to work through the problems. “Students use critical thinking and problem-solving compared to repetitious problems offered by most traditional textbooks and approaches,” said Ms. McGonigle. “They strive to understand the concept rather than just complete the work.”  

Over the next three years, this curriculum will be rolled out to the eighth grade and the rest of the middle school. I look forward to sharing more insights from our math faculty - and our students - as they immerse themselves in this new curriculum.

 

In this new bi-weekly column, Robert Missonis will highlight the innovative developments within our curriculum and classrooms, demonstrating our commitment to academic excellence through Goal II: 'Schools of the Sacred Heart educate to a deep respect for intellectual values.' Robert Missonis is Head of Middle School and Assistant Head of School for Academic Leadership. These updates will explore how we continuously advance our teaching practices to foster intellectual growth and uphold our Sacred Heart mission.

 

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