More Math, Not Less, Will Lead Students to Succeed
It gets better with practice.
Photographer: Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
A group of middle school girls is puzzling over a pie chart about reading habits in the US. Their “math designer” stands at the front of the room, encouraging students to share what they “notice and wonder.” A data talk, as it’s known, is meant to empower students to ask questions about the data-filled world around them and embrace uncertainty. Teachers aren’t experts but fellow explorers.
Welcome to Youcubed, a Stanford-designed data-science course. This one was taught at an all-girls STEM middle school in Palo Alto, California, where tuition costs more than $50,000. Across the nation, schools are incorporating Youcubed and similar coursework into their math curricula to engage struggling students. In some states, such classes have become a substitute for Algebra 2.