But is it Research Based?

One project I have been involved in for the last 7 years requires that we collect " pre and post data" about each student. We have to look at what math skills children bring to the program, and whether they learn any new ones in the time we work with them. Usually people administer tests to get this kind of information. However, one of the key principles of Third Way programs, is that it we do not test children. They are tested enough in school. They need time to learn without the pressure. (There is in fact much research to back up this view of learning. It has been conclusively shown that negative emotions interfere with the formation of new neural pathways in the brain.)
So we avoid assessment tests, timed worksheets, flashcards, "challenging" questions, even games where winning is based on speed or skill. The pressure is off. The goal is to slow children down and cool them out, to give them time to think, and to help them learn new ways of thinking. So how do we get our data? And how accurate can it be? .
We rely on close observation, watching for a specific set of skills and behaviors. Can the 3 and 4 year olds sit down and pay attention? If so, for how long? Two minutes? Three minutes? Five minutes? Does the 5 or 6 year old recognize three chips as "three", or does she have to count them one by one? How about 4 or 5 dots on a die? And when she does count, does she count each object, or skip some? As the children get older we play games with cards, dice and home- made number lines. We watch eyes and fingers; we look for pauses and listen to the tone of voice. Fingers flying under the table tell us they do not know their addition facts. A pause, eyes rolled upward and sideways, and then a number stated in a rising tone of voice. "Seventeen??" We know the child is guessing. This is not the same as thinking at all. She not only does not know how much 9 and 8 are, but does not see how to figure it out. We make a note and show her how.
Last year, as I read the about 150 assessments that I carried home from the project, I realized that we had a very good picture of each child's mathematical brain, one that could be useful to both teachers and parents. Probably more useful than a test score which does not tell you how the child arrived at the answer. I think of this as the "Jane Goddall" approach to gathering data, close observation of the research subjects in their natural habitat.

I do of course have other sources of data. Years ago, I learned from my partner to obsessively scan newspapers, magazines, books and now the internet for relevant information. Just in the last few weeks, I have run across these pieces of research.

• From a study of kindergarten math readiness: critical first math skills include the ability to recognize the value of small quantities immediately (like see that four dots on the die are four without counting), an understanding of counting (order and magnitude), including having a kind of mental number line, and an understanding of how numbers can be broken down and rebuilt. These are considered to be more important than being able to count to 100 or sit down and do work sheets. They are also almost exactly what we teach in the first two levels of Kitchen Table Math.

• From a study of gesture in learning to count: pre- schoolers learn to count better when they gesture and touch objects as they count instead of watching someone else gesture. This is true even if they make mistakes and the outside person (or in this case a puppet) does not. The whole point of our math program is to give children the chance to do rather than watch (think of pre school math videos) or write.

• In 2009 almost two thirds of all children in grades 4 and 8 tested below proficient in math in the National Assessment of Educational Progress. My own observations have been that unless some adult has intervened, most American children reach middle school with holes in their math skills, and a sketchy understanding of how our number system works. If you look at text books and homework this is no surprise.

Finally here is an important piece of research that hit the front page of the New York Times a few years ago. The key indicator among kindergarten children for academic achievement in fifth grade is not behavior, or even pre reading skills, but level of mathematical skills. Luckily, math is one area where a small amount of personal attention can make a huge difference. This I know from years of observation.