About Pearson System of Courses (PSoC)
Pearson System of Courses follows the following protocol or routines to deliver a balanced Common Core Curriculum.
To learn more, visit their PSoC website.
To learn more, visit their PSoC website.
Routines
Routines are the core of the lesson structure in Pearson System of Courses. Teachers use these routines repeatedly, so they become habits for students. In this way, teachers are able to spend less time on classroom management and more time on learning.
Opening
Students make sense of the problem or concept they will be working on. The Opening of the lesson is a brief, teacher-directed session in which students get the information they need to engage with the mathematics of the lesson. By giving students an understanding of what they are expected to learn, the Opening helps prepare them for Work Time.
Work Time
Students work solo or with partners (or both) on a problem or series of problems, then produce work that they can share and discuss.
Work Time gives students the opportunity to engage with rigorous mathematics independent of the teacher. This routine requires mathematical exploration during which students work with peers, have mathematical discussions, and make sense of problems.
Ways of Thinking
Students share and explain their work. The term Ways of Thinking is taken from Japanese and Singaporean instruction; it refers to the way that a student thinks about a task.
Each student is responsible for explaining his or her way of thinking in a manner that others can understand. Asking students to focus on ways of thinking drives them to produce presentations of their work that are more explicit and enlightening than those produced in the traditional American show-and-tell scenario. The Ways of Thinking routine also provides teachers with an important personalization strategy. As students listen to the reasoning of others, they come to understand that they can often access mathematical knowledge in more than one way.
The essence of Ways of Thinking is the discussion, during which students focus on the mathematics of the lesson, strive to clearly explain their work, and consider alternative approaches to solving problems.
Opening
Students make sense of the problem or concept they will be working on. The Opening of the lesson is a brief, teacher-directed session in which students get the information they need to engage with the mathematics of the lesson. By giving students an understanding of what they are expected to learn, the Opening helps prepare them for Work Time.
Work Time
Students work solo or with partners (or both) on a problem or series of problems, then produce work that they can share and discuss.
Work Time gives students the opportunity to engage with rigorous mathematics independent of the teacher. This routine requires mathematical exploration during which students work with peers, have mathematical discussions, and make sense of problems.
Ways of Thinking
Students share and explain their work. The term Ways of Thinking is taken from Japanese and Singaporean instruction; it refers to the way that a student thinks about a task.
Each student is responsible for explaining his or her way of thinking in a manner that others can understand. Asking students to focus on ways of thinking drives them to produce presentations of their work that are more explicit and enlightening than those produced in the traditional American show-and-tell scenario. The Ways of Thinking routine also provides teachers with an important personalization strategy. As students listen to the reasoning of others, they come to understand that they can often access mathematical knowledge in more than one way.
The essence of Ways of Thinking is the discussion, during which students focus on the mathematics of the lesson, strive to clearly explain their work, and consider alternative approaches to solving problems.
Other Program Components
Challenge Problems
Most lessons and homework include a Challenge Problem for students to work on. Students who understand the mathematics of the lesson can take on the Challenge Problems, which provide more formalization and give students the opportunity to generalize, look for precision and structure, and prove their ideas. Challenge Problems do not introduce new topics. Rather, students can deepen their understanding of a topic and share their ideas in Ways of Thinking. Here they can help extend the thinking of the whole class as they explore a formal proof of a concept.
Gallery Problems
Near the end of a concept unit, the set of problems in the Gallery enables teachers to personalize instruction based on students’ levels of understanding. A Gallery includes robust tasks at varying levels of difficulty that either require students to apply the unit concept and dig deeper into the mathematics, or give students additional practice.
Most lessons and homework include a Challenge Problem for students to work on. Students who understand the mathematics of the lesson can take on the Challenge Problems, which provide more formalization and give students the opportunity to generalize, look for precision and structure, and prove their ideas. Challenge Problems do not introduce new topics. Rather, students can deepen their understanding of a topic and share their ideas in Ways of Thinking. Here they can help extend the thinking of the whole class as they explore a formal proof of a concept.
Gallery Problems
Near the end of a concept unit, the set of problems in the Gallery enables teachers to personalize instruction based on students’ levels of understanding. A Gallery includes robust tasks at varying levels of difficulty that either require students to apply the unit concept and dig deeper into the mathematics, or give students additional practice.