dR. dAN mEYER
"Today’s math curriculum is teaching students to expect — and excel at — paint-by-numbers classwork, robbing kids of a skill more important than solving problems: formulating them."
More on Why it is Essential for Teachers to Teach for Deeper Understanding
UNDERSTANDING MATH VS. EXPLAINING ANSWERS
-Dr. Dan Meyer
"Understanding is the goal. The answer, and even the algebraic work, only approximate that goal."
Comment by Brett Filland on Dr. Meyer's blog related to this article - "I think far too many of us have encountered ‘mathematical zombies’- students who can reproduce all the steps of a problem while failing to evidence any understanding of why or how their procedures work"
"I wouldn’t bet that the student with correct but unexplained answers understands nothing, but I wouldn’t make any confident bets on exactly what that student understands either."
"Math answers aren’t math understanding any more than the destination of your car trip indicates the route you took. When five people arrive at the same destination, asking how each arrived tells you vastly more about the city, its traffic patterns, and the drivers, than just knowing they arrived."
Create discussion....."before you explain"......let all of your students "access the math"......don't be afraid to create "constructive classroom controversy".....and NOT just "rush to the answers."
Dr. Dan Meyer's Website
"I teach high school math. I sell a product to a market that doesn't want it, but is forced by law to buy it."
--Dan Meyer