In Schools and Families: Creating a Math Partnership (2002), Murray points out the need for new approaches for teaching mathematics:
"In the past few decades, data from a variety of sources have shown that mathematics education in the United States is not serving our students well. The data point out that U.S. students need to study more than arithmetic; they need mathematical experience and expertise in areas like geometry, data, and algebra." (p. 43)
Investigations in Number, Data, and Space® was written to embody the vision of the rigorous national standards developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) to improve mathematics education in the United States. Investigations was carefully designed around key ideas to invite all K-5 students into mathematics. An extensive body of research on how students learn mathematics informed the development of the Investigations curriculum. Researchers in the content areas of geometry, data, and the mathematics of change collaborated directly with the development of the curriculum. Developers also drew on the large body of educational research carried out over the past 20 years on students' understanding of number and operations. Current research and reports such as Adding It Up and How People Learn support and expand on these earlier findings.
Murray also shares that
Investigations
was developed and extensively
field-tested from
1990 to 1998 by a team
of curriculum developers
and researchers at TERC,
a nonprofit organization
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
whose goal is to improve
K-12 math, science, and
technology education. During
the field test, the development
team spent thousands of
hours in classrooms, observing
teachers and students as
they tried out activities,
talking to teachers and
students, and collecting
student work. Developers
found that Investigations
works well with a range
of students and enables
students to delve deeply
into mathematical ideas.
(p. 43)
To learn more, visit: Schools and Families.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) partially funded the development of Investigations in Number, Data, and Space® as well as a number of other mathematics curricula. Scott Foresman, a Division of Pearson Learning, publishes Investigations.
Learn more about the need to improve mathematics teaching and learning: