Welcome to the Thinking Differently About… series from NCEE. This series offers a different perspective on things we think about a lot in education. It’s primarily for education system designers and is meant to inspire, while also presenting global policies and practices that provide insights into how to improve success for students in the United States.

The first brief in the series, Thinking Differently About Math, explores:

• Thinking differently about math content. How does math content in systems that perform well in this subject differ from the United States and how is it changing?
• Thinking differently about curriculum and instruction. What is different about how these systems teach math and what changes are underway here at home?
• Thinking differently about personalization. How do these systems serve the needs and interests of math students?
• Thinking differently about instructional time. How do leading systems leverage this key resource for improving teaching and learning in mathematics?
• Thinking differently about providing support for teachers. What supports do leading systems have in place to ensure that math teachers can do their best work?

For each topic in this series, we:

• Surface thought-provoking observations about ways these systems approach math differently.
• Offer interesting examples of what global leaders do differently and how states and districts here at home are implementing similar strategies.
• Ask probing questions about the potential for improving math performance and what the policy implications might be.

Upcoming in the Thinking Differently About…series: Thinking Differently About Time and Thinking Differently About Strategic Staffing