[Xmca-l] Re: Fwd: NYTimes.com: Why Do Americans Stink at Math?

[Katherine Wester Neal]

What an interesting article! I am thinking about the lack of focus on specific contexts in the article's discussion of teaching and learning to teach as a practicing teacher. Is it possible to go about such change (from "old" math to new math or Common Core math) with little/no consideration for what kinds of teaching might work in a particular school culture or the social context of a given classroom? I think less of a standardized approach (here, everyone do this) and more focus on what works locally (here are some ideas; now decide what might work for you) might help teachers learn to teach Common Core math in a way that actually works in their particular context. To adapt phrase from Magdalene Lampert, it might bring about more sustainable change as they are "re-learning teaching" in their schools. 

Because Common Core math is so different, perhaps this re-learning teaching requires a radical new approach instead of the same old professional development. Learning through the Japanese jugyokenkyu method sounds like it might be very useful, but there doesn't seem to be a push for reforming how teachers learn once they are in the field. (Except that if enough of their students fail the Common Core-aligned tests, they will eventually be out of a job.) 

It seems nonsensical to implement incredibly high-stakes tests without significant investment in re-learning teaching and with, as far as I know, no research on how to learn to teach Common Core as a practicing teacher. I, too, wonder about how these issues are handled in Japan? 

Katie

Katie Wester-Neal
University of Georgia
________________________________________
From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu> on behalf of Huw Lloyd <huw.softdesigns@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2014 12:58 PM
To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: Fwd: NYTimes.com: Why Do Americans Stink at Math?

On 28 July 2014 16:46, Greg Thompson <greg.a.thompson@gmail.com> wrote:
[...]
These students had learned
>
> incredibly well how to solve recipe Physics but they had no idea about how
> the basic principles of Physics worked.
>

Greg,

I would say the ethics of the situation go deeper than simply (un)learnt
capabilities, but rather to the development of the student's creative
capabilities (or, rather, the stunting of them).

Best,
Huw