Math Literacy

Dr. Phil Daro begins his lecture by quoting his daughter as she boasts about learning how to pass her math class without much effort. She learns that following the rote steps, without any real learning, gets her the correct answers to pass her exams.

This is the game that many students in America are learning how to master—without mastering ANY true mathematic skills. Leaving our students and children under prepared for their future and far below the skill level of students globally.

Dr. Daro suggests the American Way of teaching, specifically mathematics, is doing a disservice to our future generation and a model closer to the Japanese teaching method may benefit our students. The goal is for students to actually understand and apply math skills rather then follow and “plug in” meaningless numbers.

Giving meaning to numbers takes a skilled teacher with a deep understanding of mathematics. At a basic level this could be modeled as being playful with numbers—using riddles, word problems, manipulative math days, ect. Similarly in Language Arts, elementary school teachers play with rhymes, onset sounds, and make up words—so a student gets comfortable with breaking apart and being playful with letters/sounds. OWNING THEIR NUMBERS with confidence is a building block to math literacy and deeper understanding as concepts increase in complexity.

Dr. Daro adds that in Japan, teachers are more apt to use a student misconception or finding of the wrong answer as a tool to increase classroom understanding. These teachers minimize misunderstanding, fine tune their teaching strategies, and maximize student learning.

The take away message I got from this video and research is to become a more math literate teacher to better prepare my students. Thank you!