Math Education: An Inconvenient Truth

M.J. McDermott is speaking about the current state of math education, as a private citizen . KCPQ does not endorse this video.

Math Education: An Inconvenient Truth

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Howto & Style

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• Math
• Education:
• An
• Inconvenient
• Truth

[Deeptunester]

Children are taught how to reason instead of blindly memorizing algorithms? This is bad...how?

[conormmmm]

This really angers me. Teaching algorithms should definitely not be the goal of maths education. The clustering method allows the student, in time, to understand the algorithms commonly used, but what's more, it teaches children about the distributive, associative and commutative properties of multiplication, without having to use such big words.

[FACSreader]

Lolz i grew up on those Singapore math books and my teacher teaching me multiple ways to think, understand, and solve multiplication and division problems by the 3rd grade. So..... Asian schools and teachers for the win! They apparently have the patience and teaching skills to provide two things American math teachers are trying to avoid and debate on X)

[albertinamel]

Neither of the alternative ways shown (especially the "lattice method") is particularly useful. It would be far better if they taught kids to factor to do mental math. E.g., 26x31 is hard to do mentally b/c 31 is prime, and 26 = 2 x 13, which is also a prime number. An easier problem is 25x30, which is obviously 750 (25 * 3 * 10). So 25*31 = 775 (just add another 25), and 26*31 = 806 (add on another 31). Such reasoning and fluency in factoring is NOT taught by a method as absurd as the lattice.

[nickyball82]

total rubbish, it is clear this lady has not got a clue about mathematics and what it is all about. Patterns and logical reasoning, I dare say she is on a commision to sell those books she advertises at the end. The reason kids hate maths accross the world (and I have taught it in many countries) is because of this crazy apporach instead of problem solving. What university did she go to that did not encourage collaborative work? Go to the best unis in the world and you will see it is encouraged

[albertinamel]

@coolpeople469 Let's leave the development of math curricula up to the mathematicians and not the liberal arts majors. I'll gladly let the English professors develop the English curricula if the Ed School folks would agree to let the math professors develop the math curricula. TERC and Everyday Math are roundly despised by the vast majority of math and science professors at colleges and universities.

[albertinamel]

@Deeptunester I've tutored many kids who were taught alternative ways of computing such a multiplication problem, and they too are "blindly memorizing algorithms," just more cumbersome and more error-prone algorithms. They don't have the faintest idea how to catch their own errors and have less number sense or ability to see if their answers are off by a factor of 10 or 100. By far, my strongest math students by the time they reach trig or calculus are those who learned traditional math.

[Pemdas314]

The standard algorithm is designed to get the answer with the least thought and error, which is fine if that is your purpose. Our students are better equipped for college, career, and citizenship--not to mention Algebra 1- if they can reason mathematically. Algorithms such as partial products force students to build understand even as Ms. McDermott says in the video. I've used almost the same examples to show the value of building understanding instead teaching blind steps without understanding.

[chicawhappa]

@coolpeople469 trust me it's universal (the standard algorithms she showed). That's how I learned it in grade school in INDIA 30 years ago and how my dad taught it to me too - about 15 years ago I was shocked to see my youngest cousin being taught these stupid 'new' methods and watched an otherwise intelligent child turn into a MORON. In every way - new maths turns ppl into big, overall morons. with no brains.

[chicawhappa]

@Deeptunester you will find that those taught using oldskool methods of teaching (drills, standard algorithms, repetition) are smarter & more logical than those taught in this 'new' manner. Oldskool methods make u independent of machines & calculators, you are just better off in life with them!! Once u can actually DO MATH, then u can get more creative with all this stuff - cluster methods should be a side module in junior classes, thus helping those who cannot handle abstract nos

[heyvov]

I was raised on Everyday Mathematics and Connected Mathematics. By the time I got to college, I was still adding and subtracting on my fingers, and couldn't multiply anything because we always had calculators available. I am in college and I'm just now learning how to add and subtract fractions (other than halves, quarters and eights - they only taught the easy fractions, nothing about common denominators). My basic number sense just isn't there - Reform Math is garbage.