Deliver Us from Math Class Hierarchies

In a typical math classroom, ability spreads across a range, from Olympic mathlete, to nonstarters. But what if instead of multiplying differences in background knowledge, quickness, confidence, and focus, math instruction minimized these differences?

John Mighton, author of The Myth of Ability, says his curriculum, Jump Math, can do this, and he backs his claim with the success of several schools using the curriculum in England and Canada. Mighton credits the curriculum's success to breaking down math processes into tiny steps and giving students extensive practice and scaffolding to work through the steps. His approach mirrors that of 2011 California Teacher of the Year and ASCD author, Kadhir Rajagopal. (We'll get into Rajagopal's CREATE model for math success in a later post.) 

Jump Math is a minor player among curriculum giants, but it's demonstrating that with the right cognitive supports, any child can do high levels of math. Every kid succeeding in math can be a powerful tool for social justice, not only in the achievement gaps closed, but also in fostering collaboration.

Mighton told the New York Times, "When you have all the kids in a class succeeding in a subject, you see that they're competing against the problem, not one another."

Math can save us, but first we've got to save math.