Why is the new IB diploma maths curriculum trying to encourage concept-based teaching and learning?
Traditional pedagogy has focused on rote memorization of facts and skills with little attention paid to the conceptual relationships involved in mathematics. As passionate educators of mathematics, many want to encourage a shift in pedagogy by framing the content and skills of mathematics with conceptual understandings. Table 4 illustrates an example of an overarching generalization and a topical generalization that I have from my book. Statements of conceptual understandi
What does 21st Century math learning look like? Eight Engaging Strategies for the Math Classroom
Often when I met people for the first time and tell them I am a math educator, the majority of the time I receive the reaction “Oh I hated math at school and I’m just not a math person!” This reaction greatly saddens me but is the product of years of being exposed to the drill and kill approach to math learning. With the exponential growth in technology, knowledge has become a commodity. Our students are able to Google any answer or technique so education needs to focus on te
How do we design effective professional development for math teachers?
Math is often taught focusing on rote memorization and “drill and kill” methods with little attention paid to the beauty and creativity of the concepts that form this discipline. This approach has resulted in a pandemic of math anxiety and fear for the discipline which needs to be addressed and eradicated. Math education needs to undergo a reform to encourage inquiry-based, constructivist methods that focus on building conceptual understanding. Due to a shortage of in-field
