Family Overview and Resources

Introduction to Open Up Resources Mathematics Curriculum:

We’d like to introduce you to the Open Up Resources Mathematics curriculum. This problem-based curriculum makes rigorous mathematics accessible to all learners.

What is a problem-based curriculum?

In a problem-based curriculum, students spend most of their time in class working on carefully crafted and sequenced problems. Teachers help students understand the problems, ask questions to push their thinking, and orchestrate discussions to be sure that the mathematical takeaways are clear. Learners gain a rich and lasting understanding of mathematical concepts and procedures and experience applying this knowledge to new situations. Students frequently collaborate with their classmates—they talk about math, listen to each other’s ideas, justify their thinking, and critique the reasoning of others. They gain experience communicating their ideas both verbally and in writing, developing skills that will serve them well throughout their lives.

This kind of instruction may look different from what you experienced in your own math education. Current research says that students need to be able to think flexibly in order to use mathematical skills in their lives (and also on the types of tests they will encounter throughout their schooling). Flexible thinking relies on understanding concepts and making connections between them. Over time, students gain the skills and the confidence to independently solve problems that they've never seen before.

What supports are in the materials to help my student succeed?

• Each unit will have a Unit Overview link that will give you an overview of the whole unit.  There will also be a Student and Family Support link that will link you directly to Open Up Resources student and family resources.

• Each lesson page will have 5 tabs at the top.

  • Lesson Focus:  This will tell you about the goal of the lesson.
  • Video:  This is a video that will go more in depth on the topic.  If your student is absent or struggling to remember what they learned, this is a great resource to turn to.
  • Notes:  Here you can find a pdf of the blank notes you can print to use with your student.
  • Slides:  This is a slide show that the teacher may use to direct the learning in the classroom.  This will give you a good idea of the progression of the lesson.
  • Resources:  Here you will find a link to any printable materials students need to properly engage in the lesson and other resources that can provide another learning opportunity for your student.

• Each lesson page is followed by two different assignments.

  • Cool Down:  Teachers will use this to gauge student learning of the lesson and where the common misconceptions may be,

  • Practice Problems: These problems help students synthesize their knowledge and build their skills. Some practice problems in each set relate to the content of the current lesson, while others revisit concepts from previous lessons and units. Distributed practice like this has been shown to be more effective at helping students retain information over time.

What can my student do to be successful in this course?

Learning how to learn in a problem-based classroom can be a challenge for students at first. Over time, students gain independence as learners when they share their rough drafts of ideas, compare their existing ideas to new things they are learning, and revise their thinking. Many students and families tell us that while this was challenging at first, becoming more active learners in math helped them build skills to take responsibility for their learning in other settings. Here are some ideas for encouraging your student:

• If they are struggling with how to start: Below are a list of questions you can ask them:
  • What can you try?
  • Do you have something in your notes that looks similar?
  • Could you make a guess?
  • Describe an answer that’s definitely wrong?
  • Draw a diagram or representation?

• If they get stuck while working: Here are some good strategies to help them work through it:

  • Ask them to read the problem to you out loud.
  • Ask if they can find a similar problem and compare
  • Ask them if there is any words they don't understand.
  • Re-watch the lesson video to see if that triggers their memory.'
  • Ask them what they notice and wonder about the problem.
  • If they still are struggling, have them write down the problem, what they could do, and any questions (wonders) they have so they can ask their teacher.
  • Don't hesitate to reach out to their teacher if your student is struggling at home!

• Fear of Sharing in Class: While in class, students are expected to work on problems, come up with with rough-draft ideas, and share them.  For many students this will feel "wrong" as they first start doing this and will be afraid to share their work in case they are wrong.  Help your student remember that they don’t have to be right or confident at first to participate and sharing their thinking will help everyone learn. They can use phrases like “This is just a rough draft...” or  “I’m not really sure but I think...” in class to help get over these fears.  In a problem based classroom, mistakes are expected, respected, and inspected.  Some of the most important discoveries of our lifetime are because someone made a mistake and learned from it.

• Thinking they have to do it alone: Many students think that they have to be able to work independently immediately after the lesson.  However, in order to provide the rich learning environment, sometimes multiple related topics are covered over multiple days together.  Students are also often exposed to a topic and then are brought back to it later.  Students will learn more if they listen to their classmates and ask them about their ideas. By comparing their ideas of how to do a problem with others, including you, will help them discover what they need to learn and start learning to find their mistakes on their own.  Just like we learn history best when we read multiple perspectives.

• Poor Notes: Research shows that the simple act of writing down notes will help with retention.  Notes are also a good way to study and find examples.  Many students will write down examples but skip crucial steps because they understand at the time.  Encourage them to take detailed notes based on what they might struggle with later.  Good questions to ask when doing notes are: "What am I most likely to forget from this lesson?" "What am is still struggling to understand?" “Do I understand the lesson summary? Do the learning targets describe me?” If not, write down a sentence like, “I understand up to... but I don’t understand why...” Share it with a classmate, teacher, or other resource who can help you better understand.

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