Have you heard this from parents (or even your friends), “Why are they teaching this ‘new math’?” To be honest, it’s frustrating because it feels like a lose-lose situation. Like, what can I say that will convince you that it’s not actually “new math”.
I’m ready to jump right in to help you address these comments about “new math” and our approach to teaching math.
I think we need to tackle two things in this episode… #1 What is even meant by “new math” and #2 What do parents mean when they say this? Then, we can get on to what we can say in response.
In this episode we’ll chat about New Math:
- What is new math?
- Why is this even a thing people think and say?
- How you can respond when someone asks you why you’re teaching new math
What is Happening in the Classroom with New Math?
The reality is, parents need support in understanding what we are doing in the classroom. The language is different, the approach IS different… however it isn’t necessarily new. Vygotsky research from the 1970s tells us that students learn best through social interactions.
Social interactions mean NOT just completing workbook pages, answering the teachers questions, or working next to a partner. Instead, there needs to be a community of learners that know how to interact socially as learning comrades. Ya know? Last week on episode 81 I talked all about math discussions… that’s such a great way for students to have social interactions while also thinking deeply about math!
John Dewey from 1902 saw the purpose of education to be the cultivation of thoughtful, critically reflective, socially engaged individuals rather than passive recipients of established knowledge. He rejected the rote-learning approach driven by a predetermined curriculum which was the standard teaching method at the time.
However we also know that parents are products of a system of education and math education that looks very different from the classrooms we are trying to create now. Every adult feels like an expert because they too attended school and now function in the “real world”. So, as parents we often then what was good for me is good for my kid. Therefore, we hear the comments from parents about “The way I do math is how I learned it in 2/3/4th grade. So, why are you teaching them a different way?”
Okay. I’ve got a few truth bombs here and I really want to know if you agree with me or not.
1. Math hasn’t changed, but the definition of math you have is not the full picture of what math really is.
2. The way you learned math was NOT successful. Adults, and even our students now, are failing at rapid rates, not pursuing math degrees or even related fields like science and medicine because they are afraid of the math classes they have to take.
3. The way you learned math was procedural, not problem solving. The goal is for students to be flexible in their thinking. To learn from others and justify their reasoning. In order to do that they have to practice more than just procedures.
Mentioned in this episode:
🆓 Guide to Engaging Math Discussion MonaMath.com/Discussions
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