The Algebra Project
A Report Outline
with
Annotated Bibliography
by Jessica L. Bolz
Independent Study Spring 1999
Villanova University
Supervising Faculty: Dr. Alice Deanin
Robert Moses and the Algebra Project: Using Math as Civil Rights Activism
I. Origins
A. Moses background included teaching secondary school mathematics in New
York City and Tanzania.
II. Ideology
III. Connection to Moses' Civil Rights Activism
A. Moses SNCC involvement, Freedom Summer of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965.
B. Concept of families and organizing.
C. Concept of grassroots people and leadership.
D. Concept of "cast down your bucket where you are."
E. Fighting same war with new weapon.
F. Sharecroppers learned through experience-related methods.
G. Implementation in Mississippi Delta.
IV. Unique Curriculum Features
A. NCTM Standards
B. 5-step curricular process
C. Non-standard units of measurement
D. "Making do"
E. Field trips
F. Cubes and blocks
G. Dancing
H. African Drum Ratio
I. Making Lemonade
J. Jump rope, play-dough, and restaurant menus
K. Connection of math to other school subjects
V. Parent, Teacher, and Community Involvement
A. Algebra Network
B. Teacher as facilitator—learning together
C. Saturday Math
D. Math Games
E. Young People’s Project
F. Trainer Training Program
VI. Results
A. Number of sites and the states they span
B. Number of students helped
C. Statistics on grade improvement inside of classroom and on standardized tests
D. Areas such as self-esteem, student-teacher relationships, and the reduction of discipline problems, which are beyond academics where there have been positive results
E. Teachers, principals, parents, and experts positive reports
F. Crossing River Jordan Award
G. NSF evaluations
VII. Problems the Project Faces
A. Ignores inherent discrimination of system
B. Funding
C. Teachers Unions
D. School Boards
E. Relativity based on locale
VIII. My Thoughts
The Algebra Project is a brilliant program, using the ideology of the Civil Rights movement, that gets kids interested in math at a very early age. Students in the program don’t see math as the feared subject; rather, they see it as fun, a place to demonstrate creativity, as applicable to their everyday lives. I think that Moses’ curriculum, in some form, should be implemented in all school districts, not just those where the children are at a disadvantage. It brings math into a realm that students can relate to and thus benefit from learning. We need to change people’s perceptions of math before we can get them to learn it, and that is precisely what Moses has done. The positive outcomes, in both academic statistics and personal growth at all levels of people involved in the project, speak for themselves. The Algebra Project is a great example of how one man’s concern, care, and effort can really make a difference in the lives of many. I am thankful for the opportunity I had in researching this topic. I am sure that I will use some of the techniques of the Algebra Project next year as I venture to impart some of my mathematical knowledge on the youth of Selma, Alabama. God help them! I hope the outline provided and the annotated bibliography that follows, helps the reader to narrow down and find the important aspects and information about the Algebra Project.
Annotated Bibliography
The Algebra Project, Inc. Information Packet. National Office. 99 Bishop Richard Allen Drive. Cambridge, MA 02139.
Summary: Sent to me by the Algebra Project, Inc., this packet contains an overview of the project. Algebra, they feel, is the passport for passage into virtually every avenue of the job market and every street of schooling. Thus it is the goal that all Algebra Project students are expected to complete Algebra 1 by 8th or 9th grade and Calculus or Pre-Calculus by 12th grade. To accomplish this, the packet describes the transition curriculum that addresses the conceptual shift from arithmetic to algebraic thinking; the use of inquiry-based teaching strategies that build on the concrete experiences of children; the ongoing support teachers receive; and the network of people involved who understand the social and political implications of mathematical education. The African Drum and Ratio curriculum is described in detail and evaluation findings by the National Science Foundation are reported.
"Algebra Project." http://www.sfusd.ca.us/health/franklin/franklin~ap.html. 1996
Summary: Benjamin Franklin Middle school announces plans to adopt the Algebra Project. Dr. Martin Luther King Academic Middle School is also participating in the project with support form district and project liaison, Marian Currell. Both schools are in the San Francisco Unified School District.
"The Algebra Project." http://www.sirius.com/~casha/
Summary: A comprehensive overview of the Algebra Project; perhaps the official website. It first states the project's main goal: to impact the struggle for citizenship and equality by assisting students in inner city and rural areas to achieve mathematical literacy. Higher order thinking and problem solving skills are necessary for entry into economic mainstream. Without these skills, children will be tracked into an economic underclass. The site describes the origins, curriculum, school sites, community organizing and "network" of learning, and the teacher training and support programs of the Algebra Project. It also tells of the new Young People's Project.
"Bob Moses Founder of the Algebra Project to Speak at Hamilton."
http://www.colossus.hamilton.edu/news/GeneralNews/News-Release/Moses.html.
Summary: Announces that Bob Moses will speak at Hamilton College on Friday January 31, 1997. (The website hasn't been updated with the results of the talk) It speaks of the positive results of the project in student math-proficiency. Using the strategy of the civil rights movement, the Algebra Project was started in 1990. Within three years, over 100 schools were participating. Moses is now taking the program to schools nationwide, including 31 schools in the Mississippi Delta.
Briggs, Jimmie. "dialogue: Freedom." Emerge. June, 1994. pp. 24-29.
Summary: This is an interview with Bob Moses in which he is asked to recount his activities in the Civil Rights movement. He describes what drew him into the civil rights struggle, SNCC, his daily work routine, the danger of the situation, the impact of the deaths of other freedom riders, and taking on the identity associated with Freedom Summer. The article focuses on the idea that Bob Moses helped lay the foundation for black voting rights in Mississippi.
Summary: Speaks of the growth of the program from 1982 to thirteen schools as of September, 1997 and the number of eighth graders who are prepared to complete the college prepatory math track in high school. In the thirteen schools, the project will comprise a major portion of the schools districts' budgets. After-school programs and summer camps will be revitalized. The Young People's Project provides training for young adults in the target population to assist in AP classrooms and run after school programs. Also includes tutoring in math.
Cazden, et.al. "The Algebra Project in Mississippi: An Evaluation." National Science Foundation. 1994.
Summary: In December 1993, the National Science Foundation funded a short-term evaluation of the Algebra Project in Mississippi by a panel of nationally known educators that included expertise in mathematics education, teacher education, sociology, and education reform policy. The panel evaluated the quality of the project's major components: teaching and teacher development, student outcomes, instructional material, community outreach and development, and systemic education reform. A summary of the results is given. Overall the NSF found the project to be important with lots of potential, already having positive outcomes in the areas above described, and strongly deserved of funding to continue and to develop further in the areas outlined in their recommendations.
Summary: This article describes the author's encounter with, and observation of, different schools in Mississippi that have implemented the Algebra Project. Lots of quotes from students and teachers are given on the benefits of the project. The author makes the connection to Moses's earlier politically active life. Lots of curriculum is described. Some of the outshoots of the project, such as the Math Games League and the work at Brinkley University, are described. Ends by posing the question, is math enough to make change happen?
Clinton, Hillary Rodham. It Takes a Village. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
Summary: Clinton describes innovators who have pioneered a more effective approach to learning. She describes how Bob Moses' Algebra Project does just this. It addresses the crisis in math education among minority students through a middle school curriculum that was designed to bridge the conceptual gap between arithmetic and algebra. She says that such programs are particularly important because studies show that the strongest single indicator of whether students will go on to college is whether they have taken both algebra and geometry.
Davis, et.al. "The Algebra Project: A National Perspective--Evaluation Report." MacArthur and Lilly Foundations and PERG, Lesley College, Cambridge, MA. June, 1996
Summary: Another evaluation. This one found many of the same positive points of, and recommendations for, the Algebra Project. The report was organized around theses themes: the Algebra Project as a curricular intervention, student outcomes, teaching and teacher development, systemic reform, and community organizing and development of the Algebra Project Network. Testimonies of students, teachers, principals, school leaders, parents, Algebra Project trainers and staff, and evaluation by expert observers were all taken into account. Overall, the report found the Algebra Project in the unique position of understanding how to improve mathematics education in rural and urban schools.
Fasanelli, Florence. "A Luncheon Talk for SUMMAC Given by Bob Moses." MAA: SUMMAC Forum. February, 1994. pp. 1,3,8,9.
Summary: This is a transcript of Bob Moses' speech at the SUMMAC Forum in 1994. He starts out by describing the one aspect of the Civil Rights movement that the cameras didn't or couldn't capture: the organizing aspect. Ella Baker's philosophy of organizing at the grassroots and staking out a problem and then seeing if there is a solution, are two ways of waging the war for civil rights and now for math and science literacy. Moses urged the mathematicians at the forum to organize and form a consensus to teach all children math in a way that allows them to learn it well. This is a problem for the whole country to be working hard at eradicating, for math goes beyond the professional or the job. It is an issue of democracy and citizenship. Math is now just as important as reading and writing because of the technological shift in society. A response by Don Goldberg, professor of math at Occidental College and 1991 SUMMA Grantee, follows.
Godfrey and O'Connor. "The Vertical Hand Span: Non-Standard Units, Expressions, and Symbols in the Classroom." Journal of Mathematical Behavior. 1995. pp. 327-345.
Summary: This article explores the consequences of having students create and use nonstandard units of measurement, and symbols for such units, in order to promote understanding of mathematics as communication. A controversy that arose in an Algebra Project class is presented as displaying the tension among several conflicting requirements of language and symbol use in mathematical communication. Transparent, concrete symbols exist alongside arbitrary and opaque ones; technical terms depart from their everyday linguistic counterparts in unpredictable ways. Students must honor the conventional and historical use of terms or symbols, while at the same time using and interpreting innovative and contextually determined uses. The implications of these complexities for student learning and teaching are explored.
Gray, Stan. "In the Schools: African Drums and Ratios." Living Blues. November/December, p. 10.
Summary: This article explores how drums are used as curriculum in Bob Moses' Algebra Project. The project seeks to build on students' concrete experiences to understand important mathematical concepts. Drum rhythms become a medium for teaching. Concepts such as ratios, proportions, fractions, and rates are taught as children make their own drums, develop drum patterns, and create a drum language.
Heath, William. The Children Bob Moses Led. Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 1995.
Summary: A compelling fictional chronicle of the events of Freedom Summer 1964. This novel, inspired by real persons and events, is narrated in alternating sections by Tom Morton, a white college student who joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) for the summer, and Bob Moses, the charismatic leader of the Mississippi Summer Project. This novel eloquently and powerfully recalls the spirit of the 1960s and conveys the hopeful idealism of the young students as they being to understand both the harsh reality faced by those they try to help and the enormity of the oppression they must overcome.
Hereford, Nancy-Jo. "Make Math Matter!" Middle Years. April/May, 1995. pp. 17-20.
Summary: Follows the implementation of the Algebra Project in the sixth grade class of Forest Manor Middle School in Indianapolis. The students at this school historically score poorly on math achievement tests and often get stuck in low-level consumer math classes in high school. But with the program, a foundation of skills, confidence, and understanding for algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and more, is being built. The article describes how the school is using the curriculum of connecting math with experience and creating nonstandard symbols. It also describes the connection of math with language arts in the program as a way of keeping the experiences that they use in math vivid for students by, say, writing and reading about them.
"Ideas that Work: Mathematics Professional Development."
http://www.enc.org/reform/ideas/133273/3273_56.htm.
Summary: A brief description of, and contact information for, the Algebra Project, a professional development program for teachers in grades K-8. It describes the innovative curriculum and training for teachers, the necessary involvement of parents and community, and the school districts across the country implementing the project.
Isaac, Jeffrey C. "The Algebra Project and Democratic Politics." Dissent. Winter, 1999. pp. 72-79.
Summary: Discusses whether the Algebra Project is a political move, paralleling Moses' earlier activity as a democratic activist and civil rights leader. It seems apolitical in its conventional means to pursue educational enhancement such as curriculum revision, teacher support, parental involvement, and so on. But if we look at the program as a "democratic community building," ie., the capacity of a collectivity to organize itself and to generate a sense of common purpose and commitment, then how it enacts these is strongly political, which the article gives evidence for. It then goes on to describe the limits of the project because of its vulnerability to foundation boards, teachers unions, and school boards; its performance being contingent on a multitude of unpredictable forces; and its failure to recognize the discrimination of our political economy.
Jetter, Alexis. "Mississippi Learning." New York Times Magazine. February 21, 1993. pp. 28-72.
Summary: A very narrative description of the Algebra Project's implementation in Mississippi as Bob Moses fighting the same war but with a new weapon. Today he's seeking to open another closed door: the world of educational opportunity denied to poor children, black and white alike, by not taking algebra and hence not getting on the college prepatory mathematics track. The techniques are vintage 1964; just as Freedom School volunteers used examples from sharecroppers own experiences to teach history and writing, Algebra Project students learn to think and "speak" mathematically by tackling problems that arise in their daily lives. His approach flips traditional math instruction and it seems to be having great results in way more than just mathematical education.
"Keynote Speaker: Robert Moses. Founder, The Algebra Project."
http://www.pasesetter.com/5th_rmoses.html.
Summary: Robert Moses, Founder and President of the Algebra Project will speak at the PASE (Partnership for After School Education) fifth annual conference on Friday May 7, 1999. The subject of the conference will be 'Literacy, Learning, and Leadership.' The website gives a chronological summary of Moses' life, education, and work.
Michelmore, Peter. "Bob Moses's Crusade." Reader's Digest. March, 1995.
Summary: This article is a very narrative description of how the Algebra Project was created. It speaks of Moses' concern for his daughter's education, his interest in math, his activities in the Civil Rights movement, and his desire for challenges. It gives great examples of the inculcation of the philosophy of the project: teachers and students working out answers together, overcoming self-doubts, drawing on everyday experiences. In 1990, Moses started the Algebra Project, Inc., so that he could pilot the program in other cities with the above philosophy and the strategies of the Civil Rights movement.
Moses, Robert P. "Remarks on the Struggle for Citizenship and Math/Science Literacy." Journal of Mathematical Behavior. 1994. pp. 107-111.
Summary: Moses speaks of his reasons for creating the Algebra Project. He talks of a "floor," or an acceptable goal/standard for math literacy at the middle school level. To achieve this, people at all levels of government and legislation, community and school systems, teachers, parents, and students must chip in. Now, some eighty to ninety percent of college minority students are in remedial math, for which they don't even get credit. With a new understanding of math, they'll have a new understanding of themselves as leaders, participants, and learners. The key is the philosophy of Ella Baker: leadership at the grassroots level.
"Overcoming the Tyranny of Low Expectations."
http://www.publiceduation.org/97annual/page-03.htm.
Summary: Announcement that the prestigious Crossing the River Jordan Award was presented to Robert Moses for the Algebra Project. The award signifies that the recipient has provided creative and insightful leadership, worked to challenge an existing system, created opportunities for others, changed predictable outcomes to unprecedented opportunities, fashioned new tools and instruments, and helped others to see what lies on the other side of the water. The award was presented at the Public Education Network's 1997 Annual Conference. Previous award winners include Thurgood Marshall (1996) and the superintendent of Philadelphia Schools, Dr. David W. Hornbeck (1994).
"Project drums up excitement for algebra." Indianapolis Public Schools Info. March 26, 1993. pp. 1,4.
Summary: Describes how IPS Forest Manor Junior High School in Indianapolis is using the Algebra Project and, more specifically, how the drum curriculum is working. Students use the drums to thump out beats, for an aural lesson in ratios. Other hands-on education is tapping into the skills students inherently posses. Higher self-esteem, fear of math reduced, vocabulary increase, personal development, and grade improvement, are just some of the benefits the schools is reporting.
Swap, Susan, et.al. "The Algebra Project: Organizing in the Spirit of Ella." Harvard Educational Review. November, 1989. pp. 423-443.
Summary: This article describes the origins or roots, the implementation, the curriculum, and the interaction among parents, students, and teachers engaged in the Algebra Project. With traditions of the Civil Rights movement in his mind, Moses created a program that emphasized families and organizing, grassroots people, leadership, and dealing with a problem where it is. Seeing his daughter's mediocre, if not absent algebra lessons, he designed a curriculum that moves away from abstract calculation to hands-on, real-life, applicable math where everyone is involved and learning together. Moses argues that all children should have access to the college prepatory math curriculum in high school. Without it, they are barred from the knowledge needed for participation in our rapidly changing technological economy.
"Unlocking math's mysteries with 'Tony-bodies." Lilly Endowment, Inc. Annual Report 1992. p. 25.
Summary: Describes how seventh-graders at Forest Manor School in Indianapolis are using non-standard measuring tools to complete assignments. One group produced a drawing that showed that five 'Tony-bodies' equal the length of the room. Belts, hands, and drums are just some of the non-traditional tools being used in the classroom. The article also explains the two big challenges faced when implementing the Algebra Project in a school district: convincing people that algebra can and should be taught to all younger children and training math teachers in an experience-based approach to learning that encourages students to discuss ideas, defend conjectures and develop consensus. Forest Manor School say they are encouraged by the initial response to the program.
Watson, Bruce. "A Freedom Summer Activist Becomes a Math Revolutionary." Smithsonian. February, 1996. pp. 114-125.
Summary: This article makes the connection to Moses' Freedom Summer of 1964 activities, describes some of the tools used to concretely teach kids math, including the use of their "legendary energy." It describes hesitation by teachers at first, the closing of the gap between teachers and student, and even how companies are recognizing the project. Frito-Lay supports it for its fostering of teamwork…something they look for in perspective employees. Very detailed, extensive, yet readable article.
"You know you've been successful when…" NEA Today. November, 1996. p. 19.
Summary: About the Algebra Project's implementation in Mississippi. It describes how students are learning such math concepts as fraction, ratios, averages, equivalence, equality, and geometry through musical instruments, cultural experiences, dances, cubes, and blocks. Since the start of the program, discipline problems have nearly disappeared and eighty percent of schools in the Jackson public school district report improved math scores and improved student and teacher attitudes toward math.
Zogg, Jeff. "Drums help things add up." The Indianapolis News. June, 1995.
Summary: Another article about the use of drums in Forest Manor Middle School. Circumference, diameter, and geometry are taught in the making of the drums. As they are being taught to play by a Ghanaian drummer, percentages, fractions, proportions, estimations, templates, measuring, and equivalence are being learned. But, woven into the math lessons, teachers also are educating students about African culture. The constant swing between math and social studies is very important to the school.
"1998 Majic Bus Tour. Notes From the Road."
http://www.uno.edu/~eice/jackson.html.
Summary: Majic Bus group describes their meeting with Robert Moses in Jackson, Mississippi. He spoke to the students about his current community activities, the Algebra Project, and the Young People's Project. Moses also shared a great deal about his earlier SNCC activities and the Delta Voter Registration drives.