NIU partnership with DeKalb schools helps young students relate math to life

by Tom Parisi

Remember when algebra and geometry lessons left you wondering, how does this relate to life? Those days are disappearing in DeKalb schools. Third graders are using math to solve "quality control problems" for the fictional Sweet Tooth Candy Company. Fourth graders are learning geometric and algebraic concepts by arranging triangle-shaped chairs and hexagonal tables at the make-believe Planet Mercury Café. Students also are diving into children's literature, such as "One Hundred Hungry Ants," as a jumping off point for lessons on counting, fractions and number patterns.

Helen Khoury

Those are but a few examples from "Measuring Up," a program that is helping DeKalb elementary and middle school teachers and their students better relate math concepts to the real world.

Run by Northern Illinois University in a partnership with DeKalb public schools, the program over the past six years has assisted about 100 DeKalb elementary and middle school math teachers in developing real-world problem-solving experiences for students.

Lauded at both the state and national levels, Measuring Up recently received additional federal Eisenhower Professional Development Program funds to continue its efforts this spring and summer. The Eisenhower Foundation has supported Measuring Up since its inception. NIU and the DeKalb schools also contribute funding.

"The main goal of our project is to help develop learners who experience mathematics as relevant, meaningful and enjoyable," says Helen Khoury, an NIU professor of mathematical sciences.

Khoury, a DeKalb resident and mother of two, launched the Measuring Up partnership in 1996 and has run the program with assistance from colleagues Diana Steele and Ellen Hines, and from NIU doctoral candidates. In 1997, the Eisenhower Foundation recognized Measuring Up as one of its top three professional development programs nationally.

About 20 DeKalb elementary and middle school math teachers are participating in this year's program. From February through June, the teachers will meet once or twice a month with the project co-directors, Khoury and Hines. Each five-hour session focuses on exploration of mathematical concepts through problem solving, with emphasis on communication and thinking. Participants share their own observations, discuss assigned readings of the latest research and reflect on how all of this translates back to their classrooms.

"We don't have to recruit teachers to be part of (Professor Khoury's) program—she very often has a waiting list," says Marty Jurkowski, principal at Littlejohn Elementary School. She cited Khoury's program as one of the factors behind the rise in student test scores.

"We really are changing the way we teach math," Jurkowski says. "She has been a real innovator in this area."

Khoury is an active researcher who specializes in the development of students' mathematical thinking and in identifying the reasoning strategies students use as they solve mathematical problems related to fractions, ratios, proportions and function concepts.

"It's important to support our teachers in their reform efforts," Khoury says. "So this program became my way of giving back to the community.

"Mathematics shouldn't be taught as a collection of skills and routines," she adds. "Children who understand and relate to concepts are more likely to enjoy the subject and stay interested."

Khoury says the continued interest over the years in the program shows the dedication of DeKalb teachers. "They leave their homes at seven in the morning and, on days when we have Measuring Up sessions, they end up returning home as late as 10 at night," Khoury says.

Program evaluations indicate teachers feel the time spent on enhancing their teaching methods is well worthwhile.

"It is professional development at its best," says Chris Perkovich, a fifth grade teacher at Clinton Rosette Middle School. Perkovich has participated in the Measuring Up program four times.

"People wanted to go year after year," she says. "Measuring Up helped me see myself as a mathematician, which in turn translated into helping my students to see themselves as mathematicians. The program really made me think about the concepts behind the procedures. With my students, I'm not just interested in the answer but how they arrived at it."

One lesson Perkovich developed out of Measuring Up was "marshmallow madness," which she uses to introduce concepts of division. Four bags of marshmallows appear outside her classroom one day, and students are divided into groups to try to figure out how to distribute them equally among their classmates. There's always a remainder.

"They have to show me with words, pictures and numbers how they're going to solve this problem in a fair way and what they're going to do with the remainder. So we spend an entire period dealing with one problem, but I get the payback exponentially if I do this in a conceptual way. They're also learning how multiplication and division are related.

"These exercises create an open environment for asking questions," Perkovich adds. "My students are thinking (about) big picture and becoming self-learners."

Brian Ali, superintendent of DeKalb schools, says the district welcomes the continued partnership with NIU. "This collaborative effort affords our staff and students to experience mathematics with the staff of NIU in ways that are creative and engaging," he says.

The program also fits well into the university mission of outreach to the region.

"The Measuring Up program gives the university an opportunity to share its expertise with the local community," says William Blair, NIU mathematical sciences chair. "I think the program empowers teachers to think mathematically and make mathematics more enjoyable. In more ways than one, Measuring Up really does measure up."

More information on the program can be found on the Web at http://www.math.niu.edu/mathed/measup2001.