April proclaimed as Mathematics and Statistics Awareness month across Tennessee, another way to bring attention to improving math scores in the Volunteer State.
Tennessee Tech Professor of Mathematics Education Holly Anthony said new teaching methods are working. Anthony said it is key to teach students why they need to know math, not just how to do it.
“Obviously we are still focused on skills and algorithms and all those things,” Taylor said. “All those things people traditionally think of when they think of mathematics. But we have had a push towards conceptual understanding across the state an that push is just continuing to grow.”
Anthony said data shows Tennessee students are improving in math scores. She said awareness efforts like Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month bring that to everyone’s attention.
“There has been a lot of exciting work in our state for a number of years,” Taylor said. “This proclamation and this celebratory month of April each year will just make that work more visible and more accessible to our parents, families and communities.”
A new part of this year’s celebration, the creation of a cartoon mascot. It’s a mockingbird named Marty the Mathematician.
“We’ve had Riley the Raccoon as as our reading and literacy mascot for a number of years and we’ve seen the impact it has had on reading and literacy in our state,” Taylor said. “We are hopeful this mascot of Marty the Mathematician, a mockingbird, we will generate some of that same excitement and rigor around mathematics in our state.”
