At Chicago Home Tutor, one common parent request is for math tutoring. Many parents express that they just can’t help their kids with math anymore because it’s so different from what they learned growing up.

Why the new math?

From a parent perspective, understanding the logic behind current math teaching principles can be very confusing. Mathematics instruction has undergone numerous changes throughout the years, some helpful and some hurtful to children’s ability to actually be successful as mathematicians. One of the major driving forces in the different approaches to math instruction is a shift in focus from computational ability to mathematical problem-solving.

For almost 100 years prior to 1950, math instruction was primarily focused on computational ability. With the Russian launch of Sputnik in 1957, the pressure was on in America to compete with the Russians. Along with this came sentiment among policy makers and the general public alike that changes needed to be made to curriculum and teaching practices.

During this time period, there was significant focus (and money!) given to education to help shape math curriculum and encourage students to be independent thinkers.  Despite several changes in the second half of the 20th century, American students were still lagging behind other countries on standardized tests. Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were developed to respond to these challenges.

New math and common core state standards

The Math CCSS were designed to encourage more mathematical problem solving and analytical thinking skills. They encourage math exploration and reasoning.

While there might only be one correct answer to a math problem, there is more than one way to arrive at that answer.  So while 2+2 does equal 4, current math instruction encourages students to understand that 3+1 also equals 4 and even 4+0. 

For those of us who were going to school back when rote memorization of equations and formulas was the norm, this abstract approach to learning math is very confusing. The same can be said for students who struggle with abstract thinking or to learn multiple ways to approach the same problem. While many students benefit from learning more than one way to solve multi-digit multiplication, for some this fluidity can be difficult to understand. 

So, how can parents help with new math - especially if they don’t understand what’s being taught either?

4 Tips for thriving with new math

1. Refrain from making statements about how difficult or confusing “this new math” is in front of your child. Your children are going to follow your lead and develop the same attitude towards math that you demonstrate to them. If they hear you expressing that it’s too hard for you to understand, how much faith are they going to have in their ability to understand it either? A better way to approach your confusion about how math is currently taught is to say to your child, “We can learn it together.” 

2. Learning together means developing a growth mindset towards the current methods for teaching math. Instead of saying that you just don’t get it, look for resources that will help you better understand the concepts.

   One of my favorites is https://www.khanacademy.org/ You can create a free account as a parent or student and find lessons for every grade level. The video tutorials break down each strategy so that you are better able to understand it, even the box method for multi-digit multiplication and partial quotients method for long division.

   You might even find that once you have watched the tutorial and worked through the problems that you actually prefer those methods to what you learned as a child!

3. Have your child teach you. When asking your child what they are learning about in math, don’t have them just tell you - have them demonstrate for you. This not only helps to build your understanding of what they are being expected to learn, but also helps you determine where your child might be struggling. 

4. Problem solve, problem solve, problem solve! Current math instruction is designed to help students understand that mathematical reasoning is supposed to help solve real-world problems from something as ordinary as how much money is needed at the grocery store to the fantastical such as how to send astronauts to the moon. 

   Present mathematical problems to your child often, and help them walk through the necessary steps to solve it. You can also share with them the real-life mathematical problems you encounter every day and model your thinking skills out loud as you work through the problem. Some examples of these are estimating how much your tank of gas is going to cost you, determining how much of a tip you need to leave your server, and even figuring out how much of each ingredient you need to buy if you are doubling a recipe for your weekly meal prep on Sunday. 

   We use math every day, often without even really thinking about it. It’s important that your child understands this so that they are able to see the value in learning the subject well. 

What you say and do in regards to your child’s math education matters. They will take their lead from you. While learning new strategies can be hard, expressing your confidence in both yours and your child’s ability to learn those strategies is the foundation on which their successful math education will be built. 

For more math reading, check out 5 tips for math to help struggling students a student perspective on how math tutoring helped them in unexpected ways!

About the author:

Kimberly Frey studied exceptional education and is licensed by the Illinois State Board of Education as a learning behavior specialist. She has been teaching for almost 20 years and currently works as a diverse learners resource teacher and a math extended impact teacher for Chicago Public Schools.