Reimagining Math Education -- MIND Research Institute Annual Report 2012 | Page 9

Reimagining Math Education … from pre-k through high school

Reimagining Math Education … from pre-k through high school

Statement of Need:
For centuries, America’ s creative geniuses have changed the world – Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs. Undeterred by naysayers and setbacks, they invented solutions others couldn’ t even imagine, and in the process created brighter futures for all of us. But America’ s capacity to innovate is in decline. The U. S. slipped from 7th to 10th place on the Global Innovation Index between 2011 and 2012.
Tragically, our innovative spirit is waning just as our education system continues settling for rote memorization and shallow learning by our children, especially in mathematics. The rest of the world has cornered the market for a rote-trained, high-tech workforce. Back here at home, one-fifth of fourth graders and one-third of eighth graders can’ t even do basic math, and 70 % of students fail to demonstrate proficiency in math by the time they leave high school. That’ s a crisis when we know mathematical thinking at an early age lays the critical foundation for all problem-solving skills. we can create and deliver an educational tool that far exceeds what the market demands. It’ s not based on incremental improvements to current teaching methods. It’ s a totally new way of teaching and learning informed by the neuroscience research on how children – and all of us – learn best. That’ s why our ST Math program is unlike anything else in classrooms today.
Today, we’ re reaching more children, in more places, at more ages than ever before with the launch of our touch-enabled software and early pilots of our pre-k math program. Now we’ re moving out to the next frontier: algebra. With your continued support, we can literally reimagine math education from pre-k through high school, and in doing so rekindle America’ s innovation leadership and rescue our children’ s futures.
For 15 years, MIND Research Institute has been reinventing and reimagining math education – focused on the higher goal of deep learning for all students. Because we are a nonprofit funded by visionary corporations, foundations and community leaders,

I want to solve algebra. It’ s a national crisis.

-- Matthew Peterson Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer
MIND Research Institute
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