CURRICULUM RESEARCH
CPM is Built Upon Three Pillars
The Three Pillars are:
Collaborative Learning: Students learn ideas more deeply when they discuss ideas with classmates.
Problem-Based Learning: Students learn ideas more usefully for other arenas when they learn by attacking problems—ideally from the real world.
Mixed, Spaced Practice: Students learn ideas more permanently when they are required to engage and re-engage with the ideas for months or even years.
These pillars were synthesized from NCTM standards and research on constructivism in the early 1990s. The Three Pillars are still reflected in current NCTM standards and research in mathematics education; what we know about their benefits for mathematics learning continues to deepen and expand but not shift.
Curriculum Research Resources
Research Base
CPM is built upon Three Pillars of Collaboration, Problem-Based Learning, and Mixed Spaced Practice
CPM curricula are grounded in an extensive and growing research base. This research base includes foundational educational research that supports CPM’s Three Pillars of Collaboration, Problem-Based Learning, and Mixed Spaced Practice.
Results
A multidimensional perspective of results using CPM
CPM Educational Program results in meaningful mathematics learning for students and supports teachers to implement high quality instruction aligned with Common Core math content and practice standards.
Research Briefs
For Parents, Teachers, and Administrators
CPM provides research briefs that synthesize current scholarship on various topics in mathematics education. Research briefs aim to connect parents, teachers, and administrators with research about mathematics education.
How CPM's Research Base Started
Dr. Tom Sallee, a mathematician and co-founder of CPM, reviewed and synthesized the research on mathematics learning in relation to each of The Three Pillars.
Read CPM’s research base reports listed below to learn more about the evidence.
Discover CPM's Results
Read about CPM’s impact in these Performance Reports below.
Designing Mathematics Instruction in the Wake of Crisis
In the current moment with crisis discourses of “learning loss” and “falling behind,” many teachers are navigating felt tensions between meeting students where they are and maintaining the rigor of their curriculum. Executive Summary — Designing Mathematics Instruction in the Wake of Crisis (PDF)
Inclusion and Intervention: Understanding “Disability” in the Mathematics Classroom
How can we support students with learning and intellectual disabilities to experience productive struggle during collaborative problem-solving on cognitively-demanding tasks? Executive Summary — Inclusion and Intervention: Understanding “Disability” in the Mathematics Classroom (PDF)
Beyond Cooperation: Building Collaborative Classroom Cultures to Increase Engagement and Rigor
Collaborative and cooperative classrooms have different cultures: the former shaped by practices of inquiry and argumentation and the latter by practices of strategy sharing and reporting. Beyond Cooperation: Building Collaborative Classroom Cultures to Increase Engagement and Rigor (PDF)
It’s not I Do – We Do – You Do: Understanding the How and Why of CPM’s Three-Part Lessons
CPM’s three-part lesson structure is geared towards supporting students to have agency in and take ownership of their learning. This is quite different from other three-part lesson structures such as the gradual release method of I Do / You Do / We Do. It’s not I Do – We Do – You Do: Understanding the How and Why of CPM’s Three-Part Lessons (PDF)
COVID EdResearch for Recovery
The Annenberg Institute at Brown University has research briefs focusing on recovery from COVID-19, with overarching topics of student learning, school climate, supporting all students, teachers and leaders, and finances and operations. Annenberg Website
Persistent Questions of Education
The Answer Lab at the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education has research briefs focusing on persistent questions of education.