The Rhinebeck Central School District will be implementing a program called CPM into its high school math Regents’ classrooms for the 2025-2026 school year.
The three pillars of CPM are collaborative learning, problem-based learning, and mixed space learning. In CPM, students will work collaboratively to solve math problems throughout the school year.
“We plan to conduct a yearlong pilot in our Regents’ classrooms in the 2025-2026 school year, while remaining open to other possibilities if the pilot is successful,” said Rhinebeck’s Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Katie Andersen.
Andersen joined Rhinebeck teachers as well as teachers and administrators from the region and from as far away as Boston for a three-day CPM workshop hosted by Rhinebeck and led by Astrida Lizins of CPM.
“We conducted a yearlong review of various math curricula, and we were targeting research-based programs that are aligned with our newly developed mathematics vision in Rhinebeck,” said Andersen. “CPM was one of the programs we explored, and our math department was interested in reviewing based on prior experience.”
Lizins explained students would work together to “problem solve and discover math.”
“They’re going to work on the conceptual before they get to the procedural,” she said. “They’re going to understand what they do before we give them the process to just do the math. We want them thinking math, not just doing math.
“They’re going to practice their skills all year long. It’s not going to be one chapter, test it and we’re not going to do it again until the final exam. They’re going to practice their skills throughout the year, so they never forget the skills and it goes into their long-term memory banks for longer retention.”
Lizins added her goal for students studying the program is for higher retention, interest, learning and enthusiasm. Her goal for the workshop was to have attendees and their colleagues “ready to implement CPM into their classroom with a tool bag full of instructional practices that they can apply that works for all students because our motto is more math for more people.”
Rhinebeck High School math and engineering teacher Justin Randall attended the CPM workshop and said the method is similar to one he uses in his engineering classes.
“They’re given the problem and they have to work through the problem using their prior knowledge while also discovering new pathways to help get there,” he said. “They’re learning material themselves and going through it with the guidance of the teachers to make sure they’re on the right track.”