also posted on my bportfolio
https://weisenfeldj.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/john-mighton-and-his-jump-program/
I’ve been doing some research lately on John Mighton and his JUMP Math program.
David Ornstein wrote an article on JUMP in the New York Times. Mighton, the founder of the program, has written a curriculum for grades 1-8 in which he has broken down key mathematics algorithms into steps that ensure more mastery and learning.
Mighton states "Before children can read, they must acquire an extraordinary number of visual, auditory and cognitive skills. But children can master a great deal of mathematics simply by counting on their fingers (something we have evolved to excel at)." For example, the JUMP method teaches multiplication by repeated addition on fingers. As students get proficient with this, they can learn division and are soon passing standardardized tests on fractions with ease.
Mighton argues that all children can succeed. This has been supported by some preliminary studies and by the success of the program in some schools that have been early adopters of JUMP. The results have shocked some teachers who are not used to giving out all A’s to their *whole* class. This has been observed in classes with children of diverse abilities and SES. Mighton makes particulary strong claims that his curriculum can help even those who have long given up on mathematics, i.e. adults.
The part that I thought particularly relevant to our EDU6132 discussions was the cognitive justification that Mighton makes for his methods. By using micro-steps to teach algorithms and processes and by not moving on until everyone in the class has successfully achieved competency, he argues that the cognitive overload is decreased which fosters more learning. This intense scaffolding of the procedures to be learned ensures student success, which increases confidence. By building upon a chain of successes, all students are able to achieve at higher levels.
For more information, i.e. free download of teacher workbooks, see http://www.jumpmath.org
References
Mighton, J. (2004). The myth of ability: Nurturing mathematical talent in every child. Walker & Company.
Ornstein, D. (2011, April 11). A Better Way to Teach Math. The New York Times. Retrieved online April 30, 2011 from
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/a-better-way-to-teach-math/