Mission
The mission of the Frisco Independent School District Mathematics program is to promote meaningful learning for all students through a comprehensive curriculum. Our program is committed to maximizing the learning of mathematics in which students are engaged in the process of making sense of mathematics, developing conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts, applying strategies for solving meaningful problems, and working as a community of learners. The learning environment is based on investigative exploration of mathematical concepts that builds conceptual understanding before continuing to the procedural process. In student centered classrooms, Frisco ISD Math instruction allows students to construct their own understanding through connections to prior knowledge.
FISD Math Beliefs
In student-centered classrooms math literacy is grounded in:
Conceptual Understanding—comprehension of mathematical concepts, operations, and relations. Students must understand why the math works. (Math TRICKS trade deep, lasting understanding for short term performance gains. Avoid math tricks!!)
Procedural Fluency (Efficiency)—skill in carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently, and appropriately. Only after deep conceptual understanding is obtained, students should work toward fluency with procedures/algorithms (both traditional and non-traditional) to promote efficiency and accuracy.
Strategic Competence (Problem Solving)—ability to formulate, represent, and solve mathematical problems
Adaptive Reasoning (Communication) —capacity for logical thought, reflection, explanation, and justification
Productive Disposition (Meaningful)—habitual inclination to see mathematics as sensible, useful, and worthwhile, coupled with a belief in diligence and one’s own efficacy. Productive Disposition empowers students to use math reasoning, concepts and skills in all areas of life
In Frisco ISD math classrooms, active learning allows students to form connections to prior knowledge laying a better foundation for future problem solving and learning. The Frisco ISD curriculum and scope of mathematics instruction is aligned to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Frisco ISD curriculum gives students the opportunity to apply concepts to everyday life, select the tools that are appropriate to solve problems (technology, paper and pencil, real objects, graphs, etc), and communicate mathematical ideas and reasoning with language, symbols, and diagrams.