Brett Berry, self proclaimed 'math evangelist' who writes a blog called Math Memoirs, has penned a convincing piece that helps to explain why Common Core math is different (and times frustrating) for parents because it is grounded in number sense, not algorithms. He explains that it's designed to teach kids to do mental math and solve problems without needing a pencil and paper. And he argues that for most future situations in which our kids will need math, strategies based on number sense will serve them best.
We call this
new math, but it isn’t new at all. In fact, it has been around for a very long time.
It’s called number sense. And it’s the way mathematicians have been thinking about numbers for centuries.