Illustrative Mathematics

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While it has some really good problem sets and interesting word problems the big issue with Illustrative math is that it does NOT have a student textbook with worked examples. So if your kid is absent, is inattentive, wants to review how to solve the problem, wants to look ahead to see what is coming up and start figuring it out this program is not good. If the teacher is not good at explaining then it is a terrible program because neither the student or the parent can easily figure out how to solve the problems or understand the concept being taught.

Other countries that do well in math like Singapore, Japan, etc. All have student math textbooks with worked examples= sample problems that show how to solve the problem and think about it.

IM Algebra student workbook has a summary in every lesson, explaining that lesson. But it's not an in-depth lecture like in a proper textbook.

I don't know about elementary.

The summary is extremely wordy without enough actual pictures, color coding and worked examples. I don't understand why this country is so anti-math textbook. There is no way a bright kid could work ahead or figure things out with IM. A traditional textbook you could look at the explanation, look at the worked examples, do the odd problems and check your work in the back of the textbook.

Holding everyone back to the same level helps maintain equity.

It is way worse for low income students, students whose parents don't understand higher math, students whose parents don't pay for enrichment, etc. Look at these two example on proportional relationships. The first one is from illustrative math. It is wordy, difficult to understand without a teacher explaining what to do, and not very engaging visually.
https://curriculum.illustrativemathematics.org/MS/students/2/2/2/index.html

Now look at how a program from Singapore Math called Dimensions explains direct proportion from their textbook:
https://singapore-math.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Samples/sp_dmT7B.pdf

Look at all the worked examples and explanations! In addition to the textbook problems then there is a workbook for students to get plenty of practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone’s ES use this curriculum? DC is starting a new school that uses it and I’m curious what to expect. Do your DCs respond well to it? Does it keep them engaged and progressing? It’s hard to get a decent grasp from Google whether this is an effective curriculum or if we’ll see it go the way of the dinosaurs in another decade.

From the few samples I've seen, it doesn't look bad, in fact it even seems better for smart students than Eureka, which is very popular with public schools, include my kids' schools. Eureka is mind-numbingly boring for anyone who is a little smarter than average. I don't think you have anything to worry about, but you can always supplement at home with your own materials if you think there are gaps in your kids' understanding. Amazon has workbooks galore.

A point in IM's favor is that it was developed by William McCallum, who has a Ph.D. in mathematics and has worked on college-level math textbooks. IM does not seem faddish at all. Other curricula are authored by people with degrees in education and other non-mathematical fields of study who are steeped in fads.

This sounds good for older kids, but why would I want a PHD with zero understanding of child development to write a curriculum for my K/1 kid? Not sure I follow your logic that it is better. Or did they have those people to, but decided to highlight the phd in math to sell it?

Imagine you're a rich person who has a mathematically gifted child who isn't being challenged in school. You can easily afford to pay a college student to tutor your child in math so they get some enrichment and acceleration. Who are you going to hire? An education major, or a math major?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone’s ES use this curriculum? DC is starting a new school that uses it and I’m curious what to expect. Do your DCs respond well to it? Does it keep them engaged and progressing? It’s hard to get a decent grasp from Google whether this is an effective curriculum or if we’ll see it go the way of the dinosaurs in another decade.

It's not engaging. It's boring. No color diagrams. No games. No challenge problems.

This literally describes Eureka math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone’s ES use this curriculum? DC is starting a new school that uses it and I’m curious what to expect. Do your DCs respond well to it? Does it keep them engaged and progressing? It’s hard to get a decent grasp from Google whether this is an effective curriculum or if we’ll see it go the way of the dinosaurs in another decade.

It's not engaging. It's boring. No color diagrams. No games. No challenge problems.

This literally describes Eureka math.

YUP! Eureka math is based off of Singapore Math. The authors even say that was their inspiration. But somehow they didn't bother to make a colorful textbook to go along with the workbooks. Districts just like it because it is FREE. But by the time they print all the copies out it might have been cheaper to use non consumable textbooks with workbooks since the paper workbooks publishers use is cheaper than printer paper.

[Anonymous]

Colorful textbooks are more expensive to produce and are probably less effective, especially for adhd kids. You want me to be able to focus on a math problem, you need to give me minimal distra was that an owl? Hardly ever see those around here. Don't see that many volkswagen beetles any more, either, do we? I remember when I was a kid we had a running contest to count them when we were on long car trips and where were we? oh, ctions.