EMPower Books
Professional Development Opportunities
Developed and field tested by the Educational Research Collaborative at TERC with support from the National Science Foundation (grant ESI 9911410), EMPower curriculum materials are available from Key Curriculum Press.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
EMPower Curriculum
The EMPower curriculum changes “business as usual” in four critical aspects: content, sequence, pedagogy, and teacher support.
- The content is different. What is “basic” has been rethought through the lens of the mathematics that adults need to be able to do in contemporary society, a culture which depends flexible, fluent, and accurate command of numerical, statistical, algebraical, and geometrical understandings. These four conceptual strands have been the focus of the NCTM standards and much research in learning styles.
- The sequence is different. Algebraical, statistical, and geometrical ideas are developed along with, sometimes before, numerical ones. In this way, the developmental progression has a solid footing in all four strands.
- The pedagogy is different. Classrooms are learning communities, where participants share strategies and results of mathematical investigations.
- The teaching experience is different. Teacher are supported by many elements of the Teacher Book, an essential component of the EMPower program. Creating engaging mathematics learning experiences has long been a focus of TERC’s work.
Unit Sequences and Connections
The most effective sequence in which the EMPower units can be used with your class will depend on the backgrounds and interests of students. The units are not numbered so teachers can order them according to their class needs; however, the authors suggest specific unit arrangements that will support students’ progression through certain concepts.
The authors do not recommend sequencing the units according to the traditional basic math model that begins with whole numbers, follows with fractions, decimals, and percents; data and graphs; algebra; and then geometry. Instead, the authors suggest you integrate the five units that focus on numbers with the units on geometry, data, and algebra. The authors found this integration of topics helped to motivate the adult students in their pilot classes.
Although the units were not specifically designed to build on one another, there are clear connections between some of the units in the series. Over, Around, and Within: Geometry and Measurement provides a nice introduction to the program because it focuses on small whole numbers. Everyday Number Sense: Mental Math and Visual Models could follow to further develop whole number mental math skills and visual models. Using Benchmarks: Fractions, Decimals, and Percents provides the necessary groundwork with fractions, decimals, and percents to describe approximate relationships between data sets in Many Points Make a Point: Data and Graphs. And Split It Up: More Fractions, Decimals, and Percents continues to expand students’ repertoire of familiar fractions, decimals, and percents. Seeking Patterns, Building Rules: Algebraic Thinking builds upon the tools and relationships used in Keeping Things in Proportion: Reasoning with Ratios; finally, Operations Sense: Even More Fractions, Decimals, and Percents introduces more complex fractions and operations in geometric, graphic, and algebraic contexts. The following diagram demonstrates this integrated sequence:
Unit Descriptions
Over, Around, and Within: Geometry and Measurement
Students explore the features and measures of basic shapes. Perimeter and area
of two-dimensional shapes and volume of rectangular solids provide the focus.
Everyday
Number Sense: Mental Math and Visual Models
Students solve problems and compute with whole numbers using mental math strategies
with benchmarks of 1, 10, 100, and 1,000. Number lines, arrays, and diagrams
support their conceptual understanding of number relationships and the four
operations.
Using Benchmarks: Fractions, Decimals, and Percents
Students use
the fractions 1/10, 1/2, 1/4, and 3/4; the decimals 0.1, 0.5, 0.25, and 0.75;
and the percents 50%, 25%, 75%, 100%, and the multiples of 10% as benchmarks
with which to describe and compare all part-whole relationships.
Many Points Make a Point: Data and Graphs
Students collect, organize, and represent data using frequency, bar, and circle
graphs. They use line graphs to describe change over time. They use benchmark
fractions and the three measures of central tendency—mode, median, and mean—to
describe sets of data.
Split It Up: More Fractions, Decimals, and Percents
Building on their command of common benchmark fractions, students add thirds,
eighths, and hundredths and their decimal and percent equivalents to their
repertoire of part-whole relationships.
Keeping Things in Proportion: Reasoning
with Ratios
Students use various tools—objects, diagrams, tables, graphs, and equations—to
understand proportional and nonproportional relationships.
Seeking Patterns,
Building Rules: Algebraic Thinking
Students use a variety of representational tools—diagrams, words, tables, graphs,
and equations—to understand linear patterns and functions. They connect the
rate of change with the slope of a line and compare linear with nonlinear relationships.
They also gain facility with and comprehension of basic algebraic notation.
Operation Sense: Even More Fractions, Decimals, and Percents
Students extend their understanding of the four operations with whole numbers
as they puzzle over questions such as “How is it possible that two fractions
multiplied might yield a smaller amount than either fraction?” and “What does
it mean to divide one-half by six?”