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Math Out of the Box
Innovative curriculum puts learning in the hands of students
Math Out of the Box is out of the bag.
Results of early field tests for Math Out of the Box, a program
designed to close the achievement gap among elementary students,
have been so positive that demand for the innovative curriculum
for kindergarten through grade 5 is on the rise, says Dot Moss,
project director.
Created at Clemson University under the auspices of South Carolina’s
Coalition for Math and Science, Math Out of the Box presents mathematical
concepts through a four-phase learning cycle: engage, investigate,
reflect and apply.
The program was field-tested in South Carolina elementary schools
and just completed the first of a four-year pilot program in New
Jersey’s Lawrence Township School District. Princeton University
faculty members are helping implement the Lawrence Township program.
Math Out of the Box gets its name from its unique packaging. The
teacher’s manual and all of the learning materials needed
for 30 students come in a box that is marketed and sold through
Carolina Biological Supply.
It is a complete K-5, inquiry-based math curriculum. Each of the
20 units is based on principles advanced by the National Council
of Teachers of Mathematics. The first of what will be four strands
of curriculum is available now.
South Carolina’s Coalition for Math and Science is based in
Clemson’s College of Engineering and Science. Math Out of
the Box was driven by funds from technology-heavy companies interested
in improving inquiry-based math and science skills for America’s
school children. Support comes from Carolina Biological Supply,
DuPont, Michelin North America, General Electric and American Honda
Foundation. The coalition, under the direction of Tom Peters, also
engages schools in using research-based science curricula.
Logo used with permission – Carolina Biological Supply Co.,
Burlington, N.C.
The numbers tell the story. . .
South Carolina third-graders who took part in the Math Out of the
Box field tests rose above the state average on the Palmetto Achievement
Challenge Test. The students tested better — significantly
higher in some groups — than students who had the same teachers
the year before. Overall students meeting the standard rose from
82.3 percent to 89.9 percent, compared to a slight drop from 82.3
to 82.7 percent among those who did not use Math Out of the Box.
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