Lab-Aids, long known for publishing and manufacturing hands-on, evidence-based science programs, is about to add an evidence-based mathematics curriculum to its catalog.
Michigan State University and Lab-Aids today announced an exclusive partnership to publish the fourth edition of the Connected Mathematics Project (CMP) curriculum. Developed at Michigan State University with support from the National Science Foundation, CMP is widely used in middle grades classrooms across the United States and several foreign countries.
A Natural Fit
"For over 60 years we have held fast to the belief that students best learn science through real world issues and problems with relevant and relatable content," says Jonathan Atkins, President of Lab-Aids. "We are elated to partner with Michigan State University who has spent the past thirty years proving this approach also works best for students in mathematics."
CMP's guiding philosophy has been that students can make sense of mathematics if the concepts and skills are embedded within contextual problems. If time is spent exploring interesting mathematics situations, reflecting on solution methods, examining why the methods work, comparing methods, and relating methods to those used in previous situations, then students are likely to build more robust understandings of mathematical concepts and related procedures. A problem-centered curriculum not only helps students to make sense of the mathematics, but also helps them to process the mathematics in a retrievable way.
University-Based Developers and Partnerships
"We wanted something more than a publisher – we wanted a partner," says Elizabeth Difanis Phillips, CMP author and Senior Academic Specialist in Program in Mathematics Education. Lab-Aids has a tradition of partnering with research institutions to produce K-12 science curriculum. For the CMP group, Lab-Aids quickly demonstrated they knew how to support students and teachers, and that committed support is engrained in the company's philosophy.
Atkins says, "The more Lab-Aids learned about CMP and its author group, the more excited we became." Mathematics may be new to Lab-Aids, but the publisher and CMP share a common pedagogy and a common approach.
The Road Ahead: Be in the Know
Building on the successes of earlier editions, CMP4 has many new features and feedback has been extremely positive from the more than 500 teachers involved in the three-year field-test. The new CMP STEM Problem-Based format expands the potential for developing deeper mathematical understanding and thinking for students.
"Students are inventive," says Difanis Phillips. "Students are problem-solvers. We need to let them mathematize." It's that kind of thinking that has driven Difanis Phillips and her colleagues' work, and one of the reasons that the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics will recognize her with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual meeting in October. Lab-Aids will be there to cheer her on and to take in the conference offerings.
Lab-Aids will publish CMP4 in August 2024. Although the product is still a year-out, Lab-Aids invites educators to join the official CMP4 mailing list for sneak peeks and product updates.
"If you like us for science," Atkins says, "you're going to love us for math."
About Lab-Aids
Lab-Aids develops, manufactures, and publishes core curriculum and supplementary programs that help students better understand science concepts through direct experience. Lab-Aids exclusively publishes for research-based curricula developers including Oceans of Data at the Education Development Center, SEPUP at the Lawrence Hall of Science, Tinkering Labs, and now Connected Mathematics Project at Michigan State University. Students using Lab-Aids science curricula spend over two-thirds of their instructional days doing screen-free labs and investigations.
About Connected Mathematics Project
Developed at Michigan State University with support from the National Science Foundation, CMP is extensively researched with more than 500 research articles and 70 doctoral dissertations. CMP is an award-winning curriculum, including awards from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the US Department of Education, and the International Society for Design and Development in Education.
