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I teach Algebra 2, Math Analysis/Trig, and AP Calculus (AB).
As I understand it, the Common Core is not only a new set of curriculum standards, but it’s also a new way of getting the students to learn the concepts. I’ve seen a set of standards from Arizona dated 2010, so I’m not sure if those are actually the Common Core. Those standards were not organized by class, but rather by concept, so it was difficult to ascertain the changes to any particular course.
I assume Calculus will remain the same, but will there be any significant changes to the curricula of Algebra 2 or Math Analysis?
My administrator has described the changes in pedagogy as follows:
Teachers will not be tied to a text book.
The teacher will lead the student to discover the concepts by asking leading questions, rather than merely disseminating information.
As I look through my curriculum though, it seems to me that very few students will be able to pick up information on their own without it being given to them. For example, if a student could derive the Law of Cosines on his own, he wouldn’t need a teacher at all.
First, I would say that what you have heard from your administrator is a local interpretation of the standards rather than something that is in the standards. The standards do not dictate curriculum or pedagogy; they certainly say nothing about whether you should be tied to a text book or not.
Second, the high school standards in the Common Core are not divided into courses. So it will be up to states and districts to decide what is in Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Math Analysis (not quite sure what that is), etc. But I would say that the biggest change in the approach to Algebra in the standards is embodied the domains A-SSE (Seeing Structure in Expressions), A-REI (Reasoning with Equations and Inequalities), F-BF (Building Functions) and F-IF (Interpreting Functions). Although the topics within these domains might seem familiar, the emphasis in seeing structure, reasoning, building, and interpreting is a big shift.
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