There’s a new tool debuting this year in the Hawlemont and Mohawk Trail regional school districts: a math coach.
The math coach is a district-wide position that supports teachers “trying to implement math culture and math community in their classroom,” explained Amy Chang, the new math coach.
The goal of the math coach position “is to share with teachers high-level instructional practices that will have positive impacts on teaching and therefore student outcomes, as shown in class discussions, standardized tests and success in life beyond school,” Chang said.
Although she will be in the classroom, Chang will work primarily with principals and classroom teachers. Chang will work one-on-one with teachers and help with lesson planning and implementation. She will look at student work and be in the classroom to hear how students respond to a new inquiry-based curriculum, for which Chang was a consultant last year.
A few factors led the district into creating the position, which serves kindergarten through 12th grade, according to Sarah Jetzon, director of curriculum and instruction for Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont regional school districts.
The state education guidelines became more demanding, asking students to do a lot more with math, Jetzon said. Additionally, the district saw a disappointing trend when it looked at math placement test scores for students entering Greenfield Community College: Even some students that had taken advanced math at Mohawk Trail Regional School were placing into remedial math. This type of trend isn’t isolated at Mohawk Trail, Jetzon said, but it was one that the district wanted to change.
“We wanted students to leave high school ready for the world out there,” Jetzon said. “We want them to be able to think critically, to problem solve, to be curious and to communicate their ideas (in math.) … You have to practice those things in the classroom to have them come to fruition.”
The math coach position is debuting this year due to the confluence of the district prioritizing funding for the position and continuing a district-wide shift to an inquiry-based math curriculum, Jetzon said.
“What’s different about inquiry-based teaching and learning,” Chang said, “is that the teacher’s role is more of a facilitator of learning, rather than a dispenser of knowledge.”
This leads to students having ownership of learning, as well as viewing learning as a creative process, Chang said.
Traditionally, the focus in math education was on accuracy, speed and memorization. Currently, accuracy continues to be a focus — “right answers are still right answers,” she said — but now, making sense of one’s learning is a priority in math education.
“It’s not just memorization or (completing) procedures, but an understanding of why (procedures) work and how to use them,” Chang said.
This shift is a big one, both for teachers and students, Chang said, which is where her role comes in — to support teachers as they encourage students to be in the mathematical driver’s seat.
“It’s my hope and my belief that teaching students that they are responsible for their learning and helping them to make sense of math is going to have positive outcomes in their success,” Chang said.
“Some of the learning that lasts beyond 12th grade is about problem solving, critical thinking and evaluating your options,” Chang said. “That will help us throughout our lives. … Even if we forget how to divide fractions, we have some way to figure out what to do or what resources to seek out.”
Chang started teaching 18 years ago, working in the Amherst school district as a third and fourth grade teacher. Eight years ago, she became the math coach for the Amherst school she had been working in, serving kindergarten through sixth grade.
Chang acknowledged that in education, there’s pressure for immediate results. When she was hired, Chang said she was told her role was designed to last three to five years.
“I’m thinking about where we want to land in three to five years, and taking our time to get there,” she said.
Chang is excited about process along the way.
“Math is really fun now,” she said. “It’s my vision of math that it can be flexible, creative, and open and challenging. It’s a field a lot more like art class.”
Reach Maureen O’Reilly at 413-772-0261, ext. 280 or moreilly@recorder.com.