News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Putnam County High Schools are transitioning into a more traditional approach for mathematics.
Lura Hawkins serves as the Putnam County School Systems Math Specialist for grades 9-12. Hawkins said the system had been teaching Algebra and Geometry together.
Hawkins said the traditional model breaks math up into dedicated Algebra and Geometry courses.
“We have very limited resources available to us, as far as curriculum options,” Hawkins said. “We even found that the information provided to us by the state, as far as testing was very limited. So that was very difficult on our teachers.”
Hawkins said that a separate issue was transferring students who would experience learning gaps, because their school system followed a traditional pathway for mathematics. Hawkins said that only Algebra I will be introduced in the fall, so that students who started the integrated math courses can finish that path.
“We will be adopting new math standards in the year 2023-2024, which is three years out,” Hawkins said. “So we are going to take these next couple of years and we are going to transition into the traditional pathway.”
The traditional pathway will include the required Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry courses for the first three years of high school. Hawkins said the goal is to improve the way mathematics are taught and learned in the classroom.
“Our hopes are that it will help our students have a better understanding, a deeper understanding of these mathematical concepts,” Hawkins said. “That may even spark an interest for them to pursue a mathematical profession or a STEM field that’s going to use math. We’re also hoping to see that it will help them improve their ACT scores. Which will open up money opportunities, scholarship opportunities.”
Hawkins said it will be beneficial in placing teachers in specific courses that they might specialize in teaching. She said this decision to transition into traditional mathematics was brought on by the system’s high school math teachers.
