Gordon’s math curriculum keeps students challenged by combining real world applications and abstract expression while leading students to master developmentally appropriate skills, Math is a part of every school day, taught by the classroom teacher in the two younger divisions, and by a math and science instructor in Middle School.
The children in Early Childhood are encouraged to become aware of the nature of mathematics around them through concrete real life examples of the uses of math: counting their classmates, preparing for snack by counting out the amount needed or being able to predict that the quantity will increase if there is a guest being included in the total. They are encouraged to explain their thinking as they participate in the activities.
In both Lower and Middle Schools, emphasis is placed on written reflection and communication of solutions using challenge problems, journals and textbook problems. Classes are heterogeneously grouped, but individual teachers meet student needs at the upper and lower ability levels using a variety of approaches and materials.
In Middle School, much of the work is done in cooperative groups with projects interspersed with materials from the College Preparatory Math program This approach fits Gordon’s belief that preadolescent and adolescent students learn well in collaborative social environments in which multiple strategies are honored and explored. Organizational skills are stressed in teacher directed activities, and various texts model ways of organizing information and reinforce already taught skills. All grades base their instruction on National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards or indirectly through the use of a text that does.
In Early Childhood, students are involved in surveys and graphing projects that focus on how they take care of one another and our planet Earth. Also, math readers, games and calendars from different cultures present examples of how math is used around the world. Kindergarteners study and create many different kinds of patterns. Often pattern designs from material and art from different cultures help to inspire their curiosity.
In Lower School, teachers have created several projects based on the use of mathematics from around the world. For example, as part of a graphing project, the teacher and his or her class might look at data based on: where each child was born, how many times he or she has moved, and how long he or she has stayed in a particular home environment. In order to support the importance of an individual’s ability to think differently, the teacher presents mathematical processes and material usage through varied instruction. Often, the curriculum supports the important connection between using math at school, at home and in authentic situations from around the world.
In Middle School many mathematical projects are based on real world issues such as population (both local and global), the stock market and environmental issues. The real world problems relating to math reinforce the connection between math and the people of our diverse world. The variety in the projects offers students the opportunity to see the world through different eyes. For instance, the stock market simulation involves students in discussions about socially conscious selection of stocks. They consider such questions as: Who works for these companies? Where are the products made and why do some companies outsource factory work? All of these questions offer Middle School students the opportunity to view the world through a broader lens.