It’s interesting that we can look at the series of letters scrambled together and still comprehend their meaning. It’s intuitive for us. We’ve been conditioned to understand. We speak the language.
But when it comes to understanding algebra, an alarming number of students simply can’t make the connection. The abstract nature of algebra seems to elude even the best and brightest students who, upon leaving primary school with a string of good grades in mathematics, encounter this new and strange language called algebra.
I struggled in algebra. I loathed algebra. I never believed it was necessary because I could not see how it applied to me, or that I would ever have occasion to use it beyond the walls of the classroom. It was simply something I had to get through. Years later I would see my own daughter struggle with algebra, with too many homework sessions ending in tears of desperation.
One could make the case that traditional methods of teaching algebra is not solving the problem for a significant percentage of students, and today, more than ever before, administrators are willing to explore alternative solutions in order to raise student achievement levels in The Gateway Course.
Such is the case in Greenville, South Carolina, where students at Carolina High School & Academy have been given an opportunity to learn algebra in a non-traditional way, a way that let’s students see algebra, hear algebra, and speak algebra. A unique combination of hands-on activities, cooperative learning environment, and a student-centered instructional model provide these students with an answer to the question, “why do I need to know algebra?”.
To learn more about how Pitsco Education's algebra curriculum is solving the algebra problem, download the latest issue of The Network Magazine and see how administrators, teachers, and students in Greenville, South Carolina are succeeding in algebra using our innovative middle-level curriculum.