Taking a Student-Centered Approach to Math Instruction

The strongest beliefs we have about the teaching and learning of mathematics often stem from the experiences we had as students in school. In many cases, math is understood to be about compliance and memorization, often without understanding. Supporting school communities through adaptive change can be challenging, but with a strong curriculum and a team of leaders and teachers ready to collaboratively embrace their learning curve, powerful changes are indeed possible. The Homer Plessy Community School in New Orleans is a prime example.

The Homer Plessy Community School has two campuses located in the historic French Quarter and Treme neighborhoods. This charter school focuses on art integration, in which students learn core content—such as English, social studies and other topics—while exploring relevant connections in the performing and visual arts. At Plessy, the students come to school excited to learn, and that excitement includes math. In fact, when asked if they like math, 77 percent of Plessy students agreed.

How did the Homer Plessy Community School create the conditions for students to enjoy math overwhelmingly? By implementing a problem-based curriculum with an emphasis on student thinking and discussion rather than rote mechanics, offering sustained professional support which teachers are given agency to choose, and leveraging students’ diverse experiences to enhance their understanding.

Plessy has a student-centered approach to instruction, as when students engage in a Notice and Wonder routine where they surface some of the important mathematical features of an object or idea before learning about it more formally. Grounded in the belief that students bring their own valuable ideas and experiences that contribute to their learning, this method has transformed students’ thinking about math and is a direct reflection of the school’s vision statement:

“We see diversity as a powerful tool in a child’s education. Our aim is that students, teachers and parents reflect the racial and cultural diversity of New Orleans, and everyone feels safe to be who they uniquely are while on the Plessy campuses.”

A philosophical shift

In looking for a more effective approach to math instruction, Plessy embraced a problem-based instructional model in which students discover, understand, and internalize key math concepts and apply what they’ve learned to a wide range of problems and scenarios. To facilitate this process, Plessy uses the IM Classroom curriculum from the nonprofit Illustrative Mathematics.

In Plessy’s middle school classrooms, students work on math problems connected to authentic, real-world scenarios and talk with their peers about how they arrived at their answers. An example of such a problem is considering all the information that is needed to know how long it would take a team of workers to wash all the windows of the Burj Khalifa building located in the Arabian gulf. Math classes are alive with rich conversations about both concepts and problem-solving approaches—a shift from how U.S. math classes traditionally operate, where teachers demonstrate a process or skill and students spend time practicing and repeating it.

Another key element is that the new curriculum reflects the diversity within the district’s classrooms. Nearly four out of five Plessy students agreed that the curriculum’s images, names and scenarios reflect a diverse society. Students truly see themselves and their experiences represented in the problems they’re solving, resulting in more meaningful connections to the concepts they’re learning. This, in turn, helps students see math in the world around them.

“Trust the process”

Shifting to a problem-based curriculum, in which student thinking leads the mathematical discourse and teachers facilitate learning instead of providing direct instruction, proved to be a challenge for both teachers and students initially. Importantly, Plessy’s leadership set the tone for guiding and encouraging teachers through a phased adoption process.

A common refrain heard when describing the transition was: “Trust the process.” In other words, teachers shouldn’t be deterred by the initial challenges of implementing a new curriculum, especially one that is so different from how they learned math themselves. Once teachers committed to changing their approach, they were thrilled at the changes they saw in their students.

Eighth-grade math teacher DeQuaz Humphries acknowledges that getting used to the new approach was a multi-step process: “I feel so comfortable doing it in year three, versus year one, where I think it was more of a challenge for me. But once you get the hang of it, it makes sense, and it just comes second nature to you. So, it feels good.”

Deeper understanding

Since Plessy’s new approach centers students in the learning process, students are taking their learning to a deeper level and discovering their identities as math problem solvers—in and out of the classroom.

Ja’Leah, a student, says she takes what she’s learning in math class and applies it outside the classroom, precisely what Plessy is trying to promote. She plays the cello and often finds herself using math concepts while in music class. “For example,” she says, “our time [signature] is in fractions, and we use ratios when we need to figure out the number of beats per measure.”

Student surveys confirm that the shift in thinking has brought more enjoyment and deeper learning to math classes at Plessy—while also resulting in improved test scores.

In 2021–2022, the overall percentage of Plessy students scoring basic and above on the math portion of the Louisiana Education Assessment Program (LEAP) had increased by 4 percent. By 2022–2023, these scores rose by another 3 percent. In particular, eighth-grade math students saw their scores increase in basic and above by 6 percent during the first year, and 24 percent in the second year.

Plessy’s example proves that anyone can be a “math person” with the right approach to learning. When students engage in thoughtful conversations about math using a well-designed, problem-based curriculum, led by teachers who are well-trained and supported in implementing this approach, the result is a deeper understanding of math that can be applied to any setting.

Greta Anderson is a Certified Professional Learning Facilitator for Illustrative Mathematics. She received her Master’s of Education degree in Instructional Leadership in Mathematics from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.