Math Out of the Box™ is a K-5 mathematics curriculum which is under development in the College of Engineering and Science at Clemson University and is published by Carolina Biological Supply Company, Inc. The development team for Math Out of the Box™ is made up of educators with a rich diversity of experience. They are teachers from all levels of education. They have been leaders in professional development as well as math reform. Each lesson has been tested in the classroom numerous times under the supervision of the principle design team. It is not uncommon for first time users of Math Out of the Box™ to compliment us with the statement, “This looks like it was written by teachers!”

Math Out of the Box™ was purposefully developed to be released in four independent, fully developed, yet interrelated curriculum strands. A school may elect to implement a single strand, or any number and combination of the strands, to supplement or replace units of existing curriculum programs. Each strand is vertically designed to support the comprehensive development of a mathematical system between grade levels. The four strands together are horizontally designed to support a coherent development of mathematical ideas within a grade level. The strand design of the program allows for gradual, flexible implementation of the program over time. This enables students, teachers, and the larger community to construct an understanding of and appreciation for the innovative teaching and learning practices based on the learning needs of the community.

To meet the challenge of improving mathematics education nationally, a number of educational agencies have released documents outlining standards of content that should be learned by all students. Because the developers of Math Out of the Box™ recognize that mathematics is not an isolated discipline, but impacts and is impacted by other disciplines, particularly STEM disciplines, national standards from a variety of disciplines inform development. These standards are documented in the following publications.

• Principles and Standards of School Mathematics, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), 2000.
• National Science Education Standards, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), 2001.
• National Educational Technology Standards, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), 2000.
• Standards for the English Language Arts, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), 1996.

By integrating science, technology, and English language arts standards with mathematics standards in meaningful ways, it is expected that the curriculum will support students and teachers in developing mathematical understanding in a real world context and in relationship to other disciplines, particularly to STEM disciplines.

Math Out of the Box™ manipulatives and professional development go through the same field testing, pilot testing, and revision process as the lesson development. The professional development is based on the needs of teachers in the areas of content knowledge, teaching strategies, and effective practices.

For more information, see the research base for Math Out of the Box™.