Hands on Math

The teaching and learning of math has changed a lot in recent years.  The common core revolves around research based best practice which has shown that students need to have a more concrete understanding of math.  For instance, I was taught to multiply fractions by simply multiplying across and reducing the answer.  I was never asked to use it in word problems or create a model that shows what it means to multiply one fraction by another.  Now we put more emphasis on understanding the models and what math means than just memorizing the steps of an equation.  Below you will see student working hands on with manipulative to gain a better understanding of the order of operations.