Douglas kicks off year with new math approach

Students in 12 classrooms in the Douglas School District will notice a significant change in the way they learn math this year — and they'll get to use iPads in class.

Classrooms in three grade schools in the district will implement the K-5 STEM Elementary Project, a program that infuses science, technology, engineering and math principles into the kindergarten through fifth-grade curriculum, Diana Koch, assistant superintendent of the Douglas district, said Tuesday, the first day of school at the school district.

Koch said the program will introduce an inquiry-based math model, which focuses on teaching students to problem-solve rather than memorize and regurgitate. "To really understand the math is what their goal is," she said.

Koch said the middle school and high school math curriculum already incorporates an inquiry-based math approach.

The inquiry-based implementation is thanks to an $809,577 grant from the Department of Defense Education Activity, awarded to the district in June. The grant is intended to assist military-connected education institutions, Koch said.

Two kindergarten classrooms and two first-grade classes at Badger Clark Elementary, two second-grade and two third-grade classes at Francis Case Elementary, and two fourth-grade and two fifth-grade classes at Vanderberg Elementary were chosen to pilot the new program.

The grant funds new materials, including iPads for each student in those six classrooms. Teachers will be exploring ways they can use the iPads in the classroom setting, looking for apps that will help students with learning, Koch said.

The grant also provided the district with money to hire a math leader who will oversee the grant's implementation and work with teacher trainers. The money will also be used to train teachers, Koch said.

Koch said the grant and the implementation of inquiry-based math fits perfectly with the new common core standards — new curriculum goals being implemented across all districts in the state.

"It will move along with the instructional shift that goes with common core," she said.

Koch said the district will learn from the pilot classes this year and hopefully implement the inquiry-based model throughout the grade school next year.

"There is a lot of professional development that we want to provide for the teachers in order to really do it well," she said. "We're going to start slow and make sure we cover our bases."


Contact Lynn Taylor Rick at 394-8414 or lynn.taylorrick@rapidcityjournal.com