Samuel Gilles

New curriculum for equitable math instruction

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Abstract:

This curriculum project addresses the diverse and individualized learning needs for students in Baltimore City Public Schools that are ignored by the current rigid and prescribed curriculum. Baltimore City Public School students continue to struggle to attain proficiency in mathematics, both in the classroom and on the state testing metric. This deficiency has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting learning loss. Research suggests that students are 6-12 months behind because of school closures and virtual learning. My goal is to develop a curriculum that addresses this by focusing on building fact fluency as well as increased literacy in mathematical language.

The research shows that the primary factors that impact student success in middle mathematics and beyond are fact fluency and content area literacy. Mastery in these areas drastically improves student achievement and self-efficacy in mathematics. The Common Core State Standards primarily address those fluencies and literacies in the 4^th and 5^th grade year, which are the grades that current middle school students had their learning interrupted by COVID-19 and virtual learning. As a result, there are significant gaps in their prior knowledge that need to be addressed. My curriculum does this by making fluency and content area literacy a daily component to each lesson. The expected outcome of implementing this curriculum will be higher classroom and state assessment scores when compared to same age peers in the district. As well as students reporting greater confidence and self-efficacy in math. This data will be collected through the assessments and student surveys.