Page 9 - Priorities #12 2000-April

Since children do arrive at middle school with a variety of different math backgrounds, skills, and aptitudes, what’s the best way to teach math at the secondary level?
At Priory we use an “ungraded” system. This means that regardless of grade level, we try to figure out where the student is in their math journey and plug them into the right class. The best match takes into account not just a student’s current skill level, but also whether they are developmentally ready to move from concrete thinking and basic computation to the more abstract thinking required in higher level math.
At the same time, their motivation and ability to put the time and effort into mastering these new skills is an important factor also. We don’t always get the match right, but we have the flexibility to adjust and really individualize each student’s math experience.
What alternatives are there to the traditional educational track in math?
Whatever your future career, some math training is essential. But individual students do have very different math aptitudes and needs. For very accelerated students who complete all of our advanced classes before they graduate, we participate in EPGY, a computer-based advanced math program at Stanford. Alternatively, for students who finish their formal math training with Algebra or Pre- Calculus, we’ve added two great classes: Problem- Solving and Statistics and Probability. All of these different alternatives keep students’ minds in math until they move onto college, and encourage them to continue with math regardless of their interest and ability. At Priory we’re just not willing to let them say they’re done with math!
Areyouanadvocateof “new”or“traditional”math teaching approaches?
I learn when you tell me how something works, let me play with it, and then solve problems using it. Other people can’t possibly get behind things unless they’ve built it themselves from scratch. Some students can’t learn without a combination of both
approaches. So I’m not an advocate for one approach versus another. I think the best method really depends on the teacher. A teacher who is great using the traditional approach might be ineffective using a new math approach, and vice versa.
In a classroom of students there are some who are going to learn like me, and some who don’t. A good math teacher has to love what they do and how they do it. They need to teach within their own comfort level, whether it’s traditional or new math, and they have to recognize and reach out to the student who’s not getting it the way they’re teaching it.
What else makes a great math teacher?
A great teacher first and foremost loves math and communicates that enthusiasm to the students. He or she makes math interesting, fun, and important. Math is not hard. It may look hard, but there are always tricks, always different ways to approach any problem. Textbooks don’t necessarily communicate this. Experienced teachers have their own repertoire of other ways to teach math, and they share them with the students. They demystify math by bringing the students along with the secrets and making the secrets fun.
You’ve mentioned again and again the need to communicate that math is fun. Why is this so important?
Because math makes many people feel uncomfortable or fearful. The roots of this very prevalent math anxiety often lie in the early years. Parents pass on their own math anxiety by saying things like “Math is really hard,” or “I don’t like math,” or “I’ve never been any good at math.”
These same attitudes are communicated in many grammar schools. One day I asked a group of sixth graders, “Did you like math in elementary school? Did your teachers like math?” The majority of them said no. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for parents and educators to communicate to children that math is fun and exciting and just as important as reading and writing.
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Calculators can’t replace knowledge of basic math skills but a graphing calculator can bring new creative possibilities to advanced math.