(Note: The following is the second in a series on how school officials review and propose new curricula, textbooks and other educational materials for Clarkston Community Schools.)

When developing new curricula and recommending new textbooks, teachers and administrators say they must consider not only what to teach, but how to teach it.
In addition, they say they must bridge the gap between student needs and government mandates.
Clarkston officials believe they have a good answer with the new ‘Connected Mathematics Project? for middle school students.
CMP was among textbooks and materials approved at the Monday, April 14 meeting of the Clarkston Community Schools Board of Education, and was recommended after a three-year study involving teachers, administrators and parents.
Highlights of that study were presented to the board March 24. Staci Puzio, the district’s math coordinator, said Clarkston was accepted as part of a Western Michigan University program known as the Michigan Middle School Mathematics Reform Project.
The study involved research of ‘standards-based? materials, including conclusions from groups such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the Michigan Curriculum Framework.
Using ‘benchmarks? from these and other sources, the district team identified several desired ‘mathematical processes? including problem solving, communication, mathematical reasoning, connections and representation, then evaluated available curriculum materials to determine which would best help students meet the standards.
An additional challenge was meeting standards set by state tests (including the Michigan Educational Assessment Program) and the federal government’s ‘No Child Left Behind? program.
‘It’s really looking at the standards and seeing how we can meet the needs of students but meet the needs of the [government] standards, because that’s what we have to do,? Puzio said.
Puzio was chosen to be part of a teachers group that advised state officials in setting the standards.
‘It’s not just somebody sitting in the state office dictating it. They’re working with teachers and the Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics.?
The curriculum is different in its approach, using less lecture and more discovery. Rather than a single textbook for each grade, CMP comes in sets of booklets. In addition to documenting more retention from creative group exercises, officials believe the new approach to individual problem solving projects also helps relate mathematics skills to real life situations.
For example, an algebra question entitled, ‘The Pool Problem? asks students to compute how many border tiles would be needed around a swimming pool or hot tub based on it’s dimensions.
‘It’s not just about teachers giving information to students,? Puzio said. ‘It’s about students working with each other. You’re getting away from the people who raise their hands and answer the question and losing the other kids.?
‘That really is what industry has told us that we need to do to train our students. When they go out to work, they work in a team approach,? said John Diliegghio, executive director of middle and high school education. ‘All instruction needs to be embedded in the real world.?
The new materials require training of teachers (much of which was accomplished over the three-year period, especially when ‘piloting? parts of the program), and even parents were called in for education and feedback.
‘They said, ‘Wow, this is different,? but they were seeing the value of what we were doing,? Puzio said.
Reaching the decision to recommend the new materials took time. So, too, will the realization of academic progress, officials said.
‘It takes years for it to be really embedded in our students? knowledge so you get a true picture,? Diliegghio said. ‘We can’t say that this year’s MEAP will show it. Our sixth graders are just starting it, so probably three years.?
Curricula in general, and mathematics in particular, have gone through a number of changes in recent years, but Puzio believes standards-based materials like CMP will have staying power, based on state and national research.
‘I don’t think they would go to that extend and then three years later totally eliminate it,? she said.
(Next: The use of multimedia tools to augment textbooks.)