What is Evidence Based Math Instruction?

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The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE), the Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics (ASSM), NCSM: Leadership in Mathematics Education, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin released a joint position statement about evidence based math instruction. 

I appreciate how this paper connects closely to our Career, College, and Community Readiness Vision Statement found in our 2022 Minnesota Math Standards. 

What is Evidence Based Math Position Statement

Evidence-based math instruction focuses on developing students’ conceptual understanding, reasoning, and procedural skills and fluency, along with their capacity to solve everyday problems. Student success depends upon opportunities to engage in problem solving, practice, and the discussion of strategies, methods, and solutions. It also depends upon developing a strong sense of oneself as someone who can do math.

There is a difference between knowing how to do math and understanding math. We see this in our test scores. Students can recite basic facts or perform algorithms, but they are not sure of when or how to use that information to solve problems. 

A balanced approach to math instruction includes a number of evidence-based practices that are appropriate for different students in different situations. “Science of Math” promotes a one-size-fits-all approach. While this approach, referred to as “explicit instruction,” is a useful tool for teachers, suggesting that it should be the only tool available is not appropriate.

2022 Minnesota Math Standards CCCR Vision Statement

  • Be persistent, flexible, collaborative and creative problem solvers.
  • Build conceptual understanding, thinking and reasoning in order to develop procedural fluency and flexible problem-solving strategies.
  • Incorporate the eight Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMPs) to promote experiences that empower students to be “confident in themselves as doers, knowers, and sense makers of mathematics” (NCTM, 2020).
  • Pursue mathematical rigor with an equal intensity of conceptual understanding, application and procedural skill and fluency (Funderburk et al., 2016).

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