I have heard people say that math plays no role in the world besides its presence in the school classroom. While I very much disagree with this statement, as I am sure many people do, I think the main problem is not with the person but with their experience of mathematics education. Mathematics education, like all other education, is a part of a swinging pendulum where reform and new theories take teaching in one direction and then later in another. In the past, I believe the focus of elementary mathematics education was simply for students to learn the steps necessary to solve given problems and memorize a set of math facts. This type of education allowed little freedom in thinking and exploration. This type of education has misled many people to think that math is separate from the real world and has planted within them the idea that you will rarely use any math you learn in school.
Today, the pendulum has swung the opposite way. Now the idea is to enable students to mathematize their worlds, to find meaning and understanding from a mathematical approach. Teachers are encouraged to allowing students to discover math, much like they discover science, and then share their ideas and their thinking with the rest of the class. No longer is there a goal to open children's brains and plant the necessary information, instead there should be freedom in allowing students to make their own discoveries. Through this type of exploration, and according to Fosnot and Dolk, teachers must give students context in their exploration. In addition, the context of the assignments must be open enough to allow for individual development. It is all very exciting to read about "new" ideas for mathematics education. I am eager to learn more and incorporate these ideas in my own class.
Kristen,
ReplyDeleteYou are able to describe the "math divide" so well. It is almost like the "digital divide"-- one generation (parents) were taught math by rote memory of predetermined algorithms, while the current generation of students is taught to discover and explore the world of math in order to conceptually understand complicated mathematical concepts. It seems that the current method of allowing kids to explore and construct their own meaning has allowed students to develop a depth of understanding and an appreciation for math all around them. What I often find lacking, however, is mathematical "fluency", or the ability to solve problems quickly. But maybe, in this digital age where everyone has a handheld computing device, that type of fluency is no longer as necessary as it once was. What do you think?