Teaching Math In The 21st Century

I often get the sense that much of what people have come to understand about teaching and learning Mathematics is based on a decades old mentality that students will need to be able to do mathematical calculations with computer-like speed and precision once they enter the workforce. And in order to meet this need, mathematics instruction should look like drilling procedures over and over again so that students become proficient and ready to join the workforce.

Here's the problem with that approach; it sounds an awful lot like the goal is to program students to behave just like little math computers. Which shouldn't come as a big surprise. Decades ago, people were already being told about the wonderful world that access to computers would usher in...once they became more readily available, that is. In the meantime, we'll need employees to function in much the same way. That sounds a bit dehumanizing.

But here we are, 2018, and computers are everywhere. I'm writing this on a computer. You're reading this on a computer. And with any luck, you'll share this post so someone else can read it on their computer. We no longer need students to be able to do mathematical calculations. Computers can do calculations much faster and with far greater accuracy and precision than humans can do. If you're an employer and you need mathematical calculations completed quickly and accurately, you want them done by a computer.

This isn't to say that computers will take over all aspects of the workforce. But there are certain aspects that computers can do more accurately and more efficiently than their human counterparts. Humans, i.e. you, your kids, are not computers. They are so much more than computers could ever hope to be. That is, if computers could hope for anything. They can't. They don't have hopes and dreams. Computers do what they are programmed to do.

After the first administration of the 10th grade ISTEP+, the state of Indiana released a document titled, "ISTEP+ Performance Level Descriptors." In the document they describe both strengths and weaknesses of students at the Did Not Pass performance level. They cite "difficulty making decisions about how to approach problem solving situations", "how to communicate their ideas", and "how to apply mathematical knowledge to other situations" as areas where students who did not pass experienced difficulty. This is important for a couple of reasons.

First, it illustrates the need for students not only to encounter these skills in their mathematics classrooms, but for them to encounter them with enough regularity that they can demonstrate their skill on ISTEP+, or whatever graduation qualifying exam they will be required to pass. This indicates that opportunities to develop these skills need to become regular occurrences in Mathematics classrooms.

Second, that evidence of a lack of these skills is being cited as a reason students did not pass ISTEP+ indicates that the ISTEP+ is being written with these skills in mind. Students may be able to earn points on tests like ISTEP+ by doing math, but without these "soft" skills, they will find it difficult to pass.

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Collaboration
Which is why the need to change our approach to teaching and learning mathematics must change. If all we are doing is teaching students to compete with computers, then we are teaching them to lose. Even though computers may occasionally require maintenance and updates, they don't call off sick, their kids don't get sick, they don't ask for days off, they don't ask for raises, they don't fail to show up for work, they don't talk back, they don't do stupid things that get filmed and end up on YouTube, and the list goes on and on. If we want students to have options when they enter the workforce, they need to be equipped with skills that computers do not have. They will need to add value to the workplace in other ways. Simply being able to repeatedly perform calculations is not enough. It isn't even close to enough.

Not only will students need to perform calculations, they will need to be able to understand why certain calculations are necessary in given circumstances and be able to explain why. They will need to be able to explain their thinking (not just show their steps) in ways that others will understand. They must be able to apply that thinking in different problem situations. They must be able to work with others with similar goals and potentially dissimilar skill sets in order to achieve that goal. They must be able to think creatively to solve unconventional problems. For more on these skills, check out the Partnership for 21st Century Learning website. But if they never get the opportunities to learn these skills in class, they won't develop them.

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