>New York Times Pans “Dumb Dumb Math “
from today’s Times…
From the above referenced NY Times article:
“Jump is a modest outfit. Mighton has a staff of 10 to create materials and conduct teacher trainings. With decisions about math curriculum highly politicized, it’s difficult for a small group to influence the debate. Big textbook companies and paid math consultants have a big say — and big investments — in what gets used.”
Sound familiar.
Best paragraph, particularly the last sentence. Sums up the problems with constructivist approaches
“In particular, math teachers often fail to make sufficient allowances for the limitations of working memory and the fact that we all need extensive practice to gain mastery in just about anything. Children who struggle in math usually have difficulty remembering math facts, handling word problems and doing multi-step arithmetic. Despite the widespread support for “problem-based” or “discovery-based” learning, studies indicate that current teaching approaches underestimate the amount of explicit guidance, “scaffolding” and practice children need to consolidate new concepts. Asking children to make their own discoveries before they solidify the basics is like asking them to compose songs on guitar before they can form a C chord.”
Amen. Why doesn’t the BOE get is? I know some teachers who love it because (and I wrote a 7th grade math teacher) “it teaches itself and I just have to guide them a bit”
