Math Expressions v.s. Envision Math

Yesterday I had a mock interview with a principal and he asked me, "What are you still learning how to do?" After some thought, I told him that I was still learning how to take curriculum straight from a box and go beyond the curriculum to create a learning opportunities that provided for the needs of all students. The curriculum I was thinking about specifically was Envision Math. I have been meaning to blog about this for a while now because I feel as though I am really struggling with this curriculum.

At my Dyad placement I was fortunate to work with Math Expressions. This curriculum has been in the school for a few years, therefore the teacher was able to manipulate it as necessary, and it seemed to me to be very exploratory. From what I observed, students were engaged, their thinking was being heard and they often worked collaboratively and with manipulatives. In my main placement we use Envision Math. This is the first year this curriculum is being used in this district and so most teachers are teaching it “straight from the box”. From my observations, this math is very paper driven, has little to no group work, does not allow for students to discuss math or be involved in math talk, and rarely uses manipulatives. When I watch this math being taught from the back of the room I see students struggling. This math is totally teacher centered and teacher paced. Students know by now that the lesson is over once they have filled in the whole worksheet. Therefore, some students work ahead of the teacher, others copy those who work ahead to finish early and the rest of the class just waits for the teacher to give them the answer. Test scores in math are low and students are not able to perform math outside of specific math lessons.

Because of what is going on in my classroom around this math curriculum I am scared to teach math. I felt successful in teaching math in my dyad placement because of how well Math Expressions was working for the students. With all this in mind, this is what I am learning how to do; to make curriculum better fit the needs of the teacher. If anyone has any suggestions or experience with either curriculum, feel free to chime in!