Our Vision
Every child willing and prepared to use mathematics to solve the world’s problems.
Our Mission
Empowering teachers as they guide children toward becoming capable, curious, and fearless
mathematicians.
Our Beliefs
- Math should make sense.
- All children are able to learn math at high levels.
- Children’s thinking, not curriculum, should guide instruction.
- Conceptual understanding must precede procedural fluency.
- Children are able to solve challenging problems without first being shown what to
do.
- Teachers are our most important resource and we must invest in them accordingly.
- School administrators must understand the importance of effective math instruction
and be actively involved with this work.
Rationale
Today’s schools need to prepare students for a world that will require them to apply
mathematics to novel, complex problems. It is no longer sufficient to focus exclusively
on teaching procedures and facts--students must understand and engage with mathematical
concepts deeply. CGI prepares teachers, the most important factor in our children's
education, to do this important work.
− More About our Rationale
In American classrooms, often the importance of children learning procedures and facts
overshadowed them understanding the underlying concepts or being able to apply mathematics
to new and unfamiliar situations. This has resulted in low achievement among too many
students, as well as a lack of engagement and interest in the subject, even among our highest achieving students. This model is particularly problematic
in today’s knowledge economy where more careers than ever will demand mathematical
competence and confidence, at a time when the workforce will need to create the equations that will solve the world’s problems, not just solve the equations that
appear on a test or worksheet.
Research supports that when CGI is properly implemented, children in CGI classrooms
achieve at significantly higher levels than their peers in non-CGI classrooms, including
children from traditionally underachieving groups. In CGI classrooms, students develop
procedural fluency and knowledge of facts through problem-solving which also allows
them to develop a rich understanding of mathematical concepts.
The most important factor in the education of children is the quality of their teachers.
Teachers need the opportunity to meaningfully engage with the research on how children
think and learn. A curriculum, district pacing guide, and even state standards may
come and go, but a CGI teacher can and will teach mathematics effectively in any environment
independent of the resources provided. CGI is about investing in our teachers so they
may best support our students.