Traditional Instruction Loses too many Kids

U of Ideas of General Interest ó November 1998 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Contact: Craig Chamberlain, Education Editor (217) 333-2894; [email protected]

TEACHING MATH Author of new book says traditional instruction loses too many kids

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ó How many dreams have been dashed by the frustration of learning math? How many kids have been made to feel dumb because math, at some point, just stopped making sense?

Art Baroody, the author of a new book for guiding mathematics learning, fervently believes that it doesnít have to be that way, and notes that our high-tech society canít afford it.

ìOne of the most important points that comes out of current research is that everyone is capable of significant mathematical power,î says Baroody, a professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Illinois. ìPeople typically are capable of understanding much more mathematics and solving much more difficult mathematical problems than they realize.î

Research also shows that ìyoung children come to school with much more mathematical competence than many people or teachers realize,î he said. ìMany parents and teachers assume that when kids go to school, theyíre basically blank slates, and they have to be spoon-fed everything Ö nothing could be further from the truth.î

Baroodyís new book, ìFostering Childrenís Mathematical Power: An Investigative Approach to K-8 Mathematics Instruction,î was published in August by Erlbaum Associates. Eight years in the writing, it draws on his own research and teaching experience, as well as on that of numerous others. Along with the text, the book is filled with suggested activities, problems and guidelines, many of which Baroody tested in local schools and with his own three children. It also includes cartoons.

Baroody said his goals in writing the book were to show prospective and in-service teachers why reform in math instruction was needed, and to provide them practical advice on how to implement standards for teaching issued by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in 1989.

ìOne key problem with traditional instruction is that it is taught at a very abstract level, unconnected to childrenís everyday experience,î Baroody said. Another is that it gives children only ìa bag of math magicî ñ pre-digested means for dealing with problems, learned mostly by rote. ìThey just know that it works, but they donít know why it works,î he said.

Ultimately, ìthey stop thinking for themselves,î Baroody said. ìThe end result is the crippling of problem-solving ability. Sooner or later ñ perhaps with word problems, fractions, algebra, or calculus ñ most students feel utterly lost and give up. In brief, traditional instruction robs children of mathematical power.î

The goal of the NCTM standards and Baroodyís book is to encourage a deeper understanding of math and better problem-solving skills through ìinquiry-basedî learning, rather than through traditional rote or drill. ìI want students to see that mathematics makes sense and that there are often many intelligent ways of solving a problem,î Baroody said.

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