NSF Special Report - Math, What's The Problem; Classroom Dynamics - Part 1 of 3

Rithmetic may be the last of the three Rs, but mathematics is a subject that touches every family. Improving math education has been a topic of national focus on-and-off for as long as there has been formal schooling. As international assessment tests found U.S. students being outperformed by those in many other countries, a 2007 report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm, made improving math education key to improving the science and technology enterprise. Meanwhile, the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (NMP) diagnosed the delivery system for math education as being broken and in need of repair. A long list of recommendations highlighted the importance of research to guide effective teaching from the earliest grades, and algebra as a gateway subject to higher-order math learning. Among the voices in this discussion are two members of the NMP: Joan Ferrini-Mundy, the National Science Foundations (NSF) division director for the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings; and Deborah Loewenberg Ball, dean of the School of Education at the University of Michigan. They are joined by William Schmidt, university distinguished professor of education and statistics at Michigan State University.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• national science foundation
• NSF special report
• math whats the problem
• classroom dynamics
• learning usa classrooms
• education
• academics