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No one can teach mathematics

By Murray Bourne, 14 Feb 2006

Quote from a TERC (Technical Education Research Centers) Everybody Counts: A Report to the Nation on the Future of Mathematics Education (1989) Mathematical Sciences Education Board (MSEB) in math teaching:

"In reality, no one can teach mathematics. Effective teachers are those who can stimulate students to learn mathematics. Educational research offers compelling evidence that students learn mathematics well only when they construct their own mathematical understanding (MSEB and National Research Council 1989, 58)."

Actually, I substantially agree with this, since most mathematics learning goes on at the student's home and when sitting around in a group discussing - not in class.

The reality of most mathematics classrooms means you and the students have to churn through mountains of content and you do not have the luxury of letting students enjoy any discovery. Another instance of the system killing the learning...

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Posted in Learning mathematics category - 14 Feb 2006 [Permalink]

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