Chagrin Falls Schools’ mathematics students in grades 6-12 have been taking advantage of “team assessment” opportunities in their classes [since the implementation of the CPM curriculum in Fall 2013] to improve their problem solving skills. After each unit of study, students are presented with “team worthy” problems that could be solved with their new knowledge or possibly with a combination of older math skills.
“Students have time and freedom to consider all of the tools they have available, suggest possible strategies to teammates, and critique the reasoning of the other students in their group,” said Chagrin Falls Middle School teacher Geoff Brown. “Both verbal and written communication skills are on display during these tests, and the students feel great about themselves as they eventually persevere in solving problems.”
Teachers in the Math Department consider “team tests” an essential part of the curriculum. In addition to encouraging collaboration, they serve as practice for the “individual test,” which follows about a week later. At the Intermediate School, Mrs. Polly Mitchell, M.S.Ed., witnesses constructive disagreements about how to solve problems. Todd Thombs, at Chagrin Falls Middle School, notes that the students’ depth of collaboration makes team test day his favorite day of each chapter. “The best part about team tests is the depth of their collaboration,” said Thombs. “I have my students pause for about 10 seconds in the middle of each team test to remind them what collaboration sounds like.”
At Chagrin Falls High School, Mike Sweeney speaks for all the math teachers when he observes that there is an amazing amount of learning that takes place during the team tests. Emily Bertagnolli observes that giving the students a reason to explain their reasoning forces them to take a firm stance on how to solve a problem and it really shows the depth of their knowledge.
