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About CPM >
Introduction > What
What: The Basics of the CPM Curriculum
Intro | Who | What | When | Where | Why | How
What Is The CPM Curriculum?
- College Preparatory Mathematics (CPM) is a middle grades and secondary mathematics program that integrates basic skills and topics with conceptual understanding and problem solving strategies to achieve a complete and balanced mathematics curriculum.
- The two middle grades courses are designed to prepare students for Algebra. CPM high school courses parallel the course sequence of Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and Mathematical Analysis. CPM also offers a lab and investigation-based AP Calculus course.
- The CPM curriculum uses a variety of teaching methodologies, including lecture, class discussions, manipulatives, and structured study teams. During class, students are actively working on guided investigations, much like "math labs," to develop mathematical concepts and problem solving skills. Teachers lecture regularly and summarize lessons based on observed needs of the students.
- Basic skills and procedures are practiced as exercises over several weeks as well as integrated into challenging application problems.
- CPM was designated one of five "Exemplary Mathematics Programs" in the country by the U.S. Department of Education in October, 1999.
What Does The CPM Program Strive To Accomplish?
The CPM Program strives to:
- Help more students learn more mathematics more effectively;
- Regenerate student interest and performance in college preparatory mathematics;
- Enable students to take more college preparatory mathematics classes; and
- Provide students with a mathematics education that will make them competitive and successful in the global marketplace.
What Makes The CPM Curriculum Effective?
- The CPM curriculum is effective because of its unique emphasis of both basic skills and problem solving strategies. Where other mathematics programs emphasize only the mechanics of mathematics, the CPM materials develop the basics while encouraging students to understand ideas, see relationships between them, and apply mathematical principles to complex problems.
- CPM courses prepare students for the global marketplace they will face after graduation, either in institutions of higher learning or in the job market.
What Do CPM Teachers Do To Be Effective?
- CPM teachers provide direct instruction (lectures and class explanations) based on their observations of students' questions and difficulties during the "math labs." They provide guidance for students while they are working in study teams.
- Teachers answer students' questions, but do so in a manner that challenges and motivates students to develop and test solutions themselves.
- New CPM teachers attend professional development workshops (taught by CPM mentor teachers) where they learn how to teach CPM classes effectively. CPM teachers do everything other math teachers do, but in ways that foster student responsibility and success.
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