WICOR in Math

What is Rigor in Mathematics?

The vital role of rigor in school curricula is unmistakably supported by research. However, an agreed upon definition of what constitutes rigor in mathematics is more elusive. Many professionals in the educational community have embraced the definition put forward in Teaching What Matters Most: Standards and Strategies for Raising Student Achievement4 in which the authors argue that, “rigor is the goal of helping students develop the capacity to understand content that is complex, ambiguous, provocative, and personally or emotionally challenging.”

A statement issued by the Institute for Learning captures much of what many educators in mathematics support:

“Academic rigor in a thinking curriculum holds that students must be exposed to a rich knowledge core that is organized around the mastery of major concepts. This curriculum should provide students with regular opportunities to pose and solve problems, formulate hypotheses, justify their reasoning, construct explanations, and test their own understanding.”

(Boston, M. & Wolf, M.K. (2006). Assessing academic rigor in mathematics instruction: The development of the instructional quality assessment toolkit (CSE Technical Report 672). Los Angeles, CA: National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST). (Retrieved January 13, 2008, from ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 492 868). AND The Write Path II: Mathematics by AVID

How does WICOR Support Rigor in the Mathematics classroom?

Writing enables students to think in complex ways by clarifying and ordering experiences. Note-taking, learning logs, and writing about mathematics will provide students with the opportunity to write and think like a mathematician.

Inquiry allows students to think for themselves instead of chasing the “Right Answer.” Student ownership of learning is expanded.

Students learn best when they are actively manipulating materials by making inferences and then generalizing from those inferences. Collaborative learning groups encourage this kind of thinking. Collaborative group work (including small groups) whenever possible enable students to ask, explore, and answer questions as they become better listeners, thinkers, speakers, and writers.

Organization facilitates an improved education experience for students. Organization helps students to keep track of assignments, due dates, class notes.

WICOR helps students synthesize their understanding.

(The Write Path II: Mathematics by AVID)