KPBS – Megan Burks
“I have a confession to make. I’m 31 and still use my fingers to add and subtract. Like a lot of people, especially women, I’ve always just thought I’m naturally bad at math. Then I visited Perkins Elementary School in Barrio Logan. Perkins is one of several San Diego Unified campuses piloting a new kind of math instruction that aligns with Common Core academic standards. It’s based less on knowing tricks and procedures and more on understanding and communicating concepts. “Back when you were in school and when I was in school, the way we learned mathematics — and I’ll talk about the division of fractions — we all learned the trick. You flip (the fraction) over, then you multiply and that’s how you come up with the answer,” said Principal Fernando Hernandez. “It worked, but that didn’t mean that you understand the concept.”(more)