Parkway Schools

Parkway Mathematics Program Vision

Just as Parkway's Mission and Vision are defined entirely by long-term student outcomes, the Mathematics Program Vision specifically defines what it means for students to succeed in mathematics.  The 10 Vision descriptors below reflect what mathematics is and what it means for students to do mathematics.  Mathematics study in Parkway should accomplish these outcomes in addition to the outcomes of our district's Mission and Vision (i.e., capable, curious, confident learning and responding to the challenges of an ever-changing world).  Students at every grade level - even in kindergarten - engage in these mathematical tasks, though the contexts are different depending on the class.  (rev. 10/10)

Mathematics Department Vision

We succeed when all our students and graduates:

• abstract situations from the physical world into the languages of mathematics and logic
  • create and study models of complex situations and phenomena
  • classify objects and ideas using clear definitions and accounting for all possibilities

• reason deductively by drawing conclusions from general premises
  • make reasonable estimates and mental calculations “on the spot” in realistic situations
  • measure complex objects in one, two, or three dimensions

• reason inductively by generalizing conclusions from specific information
  • look for and make use of patterns, relationships, and mathematical structures
  • develop predictions and evaluate inferences based on analysis of complex data

• exhibit precision, efficiency, and elegance in mathematical thinking and communication

These Vision descriptors will eventually form the foundation of our department’s Cornerstone Tasks in all grades K-12. These tasks are the recurring performance goals that anchor our curriculum, define what learners should be accomplishing each year, and increase in complexity as students progress through the Parkway Mathematics Program.

Sources

1. What Do Mathematicians Do? by A.J. Berrick, Mathematics Department, National University of Singapore, October 1999.
2. Missouri Show-Me Performance Standards, especially 1.6 and 3.5 (State Law)
3. Mathematics, Form and Function by Saunders Mac Lane (1986).
4. Some of What Mathematicians Do by Martin H. Krieger, Notices of the AMS, November 2004, page 1226