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New York City has made a big bet that math instruction should prioritize open-ended problem solving and student discussion rather than more rote methods. But some educators worry the new curriculum is challenging to implement and could be counterproductive for students who haven’t mastered the basics.
Gabe Rosenberg, veteran math teacher at Bard High School Early College in Manhattan, knows the debate well. He helped develop portions of the Illustrative Mathematics high school curriculum. New York City mandates the problem-based curriculum for high school Algebra 1 and requires the elementary school version in some schools.Philadelphia and Denver are increasingly adopting it, too…