Talk:Math Education

Comment by Brandy Henderson 10/18/08 Math Education is a major part of our curriculum and our world. Math is used day to day by everyone even if it is just counting. I use to think that anything that dealt with numbers was math. However, one of the questions that the article asked was "What is Math?" That question can be answered in so many different ways depending on the person who is answering. I believe that math can be defined as the way numbers are used to solve a problem. Some may say math is the memorization of formulas in order to solve a problem. This is what I think hurts our math education system. Math is more than just memorization. Math is using what you already know and making connections to something new. Its easy to memorize and recall facts but you still need number sense. Math soon becomes more than adding and subtracting. It is problem solving. The biggest thing we need to do first in order to improve our math educations system is to change the way we view mathematics. To look at is as something other than numbers and formulas. We also need to show our kids that math is used everyday in real life and show them how. Educators need to provide meaningful and authentic work for students. Another thing that can improve our math education is to invite students to write and talk about math. Students should be given many opportunites to descibe how they solve problems and to explain how the problem is useful to them. Students should be able to explain how math helps them if they were at a restaruant or at the mall. There is a lot more to math than just numbers and memorization. 



Comment by David Moursund 1/28/08
I enjoy talking to people and asking them question such as:


 * What is your short answer to the question, "What is math?"
 * What do you think could be done to significantly improve our math education system.

I encourage readers of this page to try these questions with people they meet, and to report on answers in the Comment Sections given above. I encourage you to add the date and your name or "screen name" to your comments..