PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — It's still summer, but some Philadelphia teachers are already getting prepared for the new school year.
Teachers gathered at Central High School on Tuesday for an introductory course on the district's new instructional materials for math, from the firm Imagine Learning. It emphasizes reasoning over results and takes a visual approach — using pies and clock faces, for example, to illustrate percentages and fractions.
Rose Benoit, a kindergarten teacher at Carnell Elementary School, said there's a corresponding physical component, too.
"It could be cubes to put together and count, or beans," she said.
Only 15% of district students met state standards for math last year, so she's eager to put the new instructional resources into service. "I am excited to use my knowledge in a different way, especially if I see the benefit."
Another teacher-leader, who did not want to be named, said teachers may be hesitant to jump into "the new shiny thing" provided by the district, but they have also "always wanted something that's going to be cohesive." The new textbooks and web resources appear to provide a more consistent progression of math concepts, she said.
"It's more aligned," she added. "With enVision, there was a lot of jumping around from one volume to the next. Whereas Imagine Learning, from what we're told, is going to go straight through."
Angela, a third-grade teacher, said learning a new system sets an example for students.
"We have seasons. The leaves change. So change happens, and it's learning how to adapt. And I think the way that teachers adapt, it helps students to be able to adapt because there's changes for them, too," she said.
Superintendent Tony Watlington is phasing in the new materials as part of his $70 million curriculum overhaul. It begins with K-12 math this fall.
