Math education looks different today than when you were a child. You’ve probably seen funny Facebook posts about the ridiculous math problems children today are given. Today’s post is inspired by this parent’s question to a teacher:
What is going on with math? My son had to answer a simple math fact 6×6=___. In my day, we had worksheets with math problems. We filled them out. We memorized the facts. There were right and wrong answers. Now my son gets a math fact like the one above. He works in a group and spends a half an hour drawing pictures and playing with Lego blocks. He says they have to prove that 36 is the answer. This seems inefficient to me. Why can’t they just memorize the facts and then move on to more difficult math?
This is a great question and we would like to share some insight about how math is being taught today in case you aren’t one of the teachers teaching this particular subject. This parent is correct in noting that math education today is not just about memorizing the facts. Though there is still a place for quick recall of basic facts, there is much more emphasis today on understanding mathematical principles and using those principles for problem solving.
The teacher in the above scenario is teaching for understanding. By having students work in groups, she is allowing children to explore the relationships between numbers. They will use mathematical language, clarify their thinking by speaking out loud, share, and even argue. They will be solidifying their knowledge of the underlying mathematical concepts.
For example, it is possible to memorize 6×6=36 and not have an understanding of what that means. These children use different ways to represent that understanding. They will draw pictures, perhaps showing six groups of six. They might use the Lego blocks as manipulatives in order to count the objects and build understanding of why the answer is 36. They may take those same 36 blocks and show other ways to get to 36 such 12 x 3 or 9×4. They might also discover that 5×6 does not add up to 36. In doing these activities, they understand what it means to multiply. They are learning to reason mathematically.
Did you struggle with story problems as child? Imagine a follow up assignment. The children work in groups to design a bird house. They have to draw a plan and evaluate the amount of wood they will need. The wood comes in 36 inch pieces. The children design their birdhouses, which are all different, building an understanding that there is more than one way to solve a problem. These children are able to perfectly identify how many pieces of wood they will need, how they will cut them, and how much they will have left over. Not bad for seven year olds.
In today’s world, with easy access to phones with built in calculators, computation skills are not enough. Memorizing math facts is not going to help students use those facts in different contexts. Children need to develop the skills to analyze, reason, and solve mathematical problems.
How did you learn math? Do you see a difference in the way kids learn math today? Are you teaching math? If so, what do you notice about the way math is currently taught? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Happy problem solving,
This is a very timely post and full of great information. Thank you for explaining why Math is so different now. Up until the start of this school year I homeschooled my children and we/they were learning this new way of Math. At first I didn’t understand it at all, but as we got further along it started making perfect sense. It most definitely shouldn’t just be about memorization, as it once was. Sure it takes a bit longer (or sometimes a lot longer) to get the same answer, but now there is an actual understanding of WHY the answer is what it is. Great post!
Hi Kim, you are right, it DOES take longer. Good for you for tackling something new. I think one of the problems with the new way of thinking about math is that it often isn’t explained to parents and they just don’t understand what their children are trying to do.
As a kid I excelled in math but I am worried about when my daughter starts getting into math assignments. Things have changed so much I probably wont understand the approach used today. Kids are very reliant on technology, it’s a different world.
Hi Valerie, the good thing is that if you were good in math, you probably understand the concepts. Your daughter might be asked to do more with information, but with a little questioning you should be able to understand what she is doing. It also helps if you have a positive attitude and have had good experiences with math.
Math is so different now from when I was at school. They now do a lot of model maths so that the kids can visualise the problem.
Agatha, yes, there is much more emphasis on visualizing the problem, hopefully it will help kids to understand it better.
I learned math the old fashioned way. I am all for teaching children how to be critical thinkers. My main gripe with how math is being taught today is that kids are learning so many new math principles at once. For example, last year when my son was in first grade he was always overwhelmed with trying to remember all the different ways they taught him to solve one simple math problem.
Yanique, that is a good point. There comes a time when there are too many ways to do it. Students shouldn’t always have to use all the ways to solve a problem, they should understand that there are different ways to solve it and use the one that makes the most sense. Teachers need to understand that students may use different ways to get to the right answer.