Are We Teaching the Math Kids Need?

‘Every child possesses vast mathematics potential, says Jo Boaler, Stanford University
mathematics professor and best-selling author—but for them to access it, we need to
rethink how we teach math.’
I chose this article because I was introduced to Jo Boaler early on in my
university experience. I found myself wishing that my school experience was inspired
by her ideologies in math. Boaler describes that about half the population views
themselves as a math person, while the other half feels the opposite. She describes how
students, especially adolescent students, need to think for themselves. They want to
have their own ideas, and be respected in their thinking. The classic ways of doing math
does not give them the opportunity to be their full selves, so they don’t connect with
math. Students feel anxiety because they are often marked right or wrong.
Substantiating the idea that they either can or cannot do math. Speed is valued when
some of the world's best mathematicians are slow and creative or slow and methodical.
Learning math can get messy, it is not just about following the steps to get to the correct
answer.
Some concepts and strategies that Boaler outlines for educators, to use with
typical students, undiagnosed students, or students with dyscalculia are:
1. Use Assessment for Learning more often, or always, when teaching math,
rather than Assessment of Learning. Give feedback that is diagnostic and
teach them to reflect on their own learning.
2. Teach students that the struggle is where the learning happens. Reinforce
this all the time. Make sure assessment practices reinforce this as well.
This means not penalizing students for making mistakes during tests. You
can do this by giving assessments where students can get creative, where
it isn’t just rote memorization of math facts, or by allowing them to
diagnose their own mistakes and giving the opportunity to resubmit.
3. Spend LOTS of time on mindset. Give students the chance to understand
that they all have the capabilities to be great math students. Teach them to
value the struggle. Math is open, creative, slow, and vast.