This paper is discussing the ongoing and never ending battle around North American mathematics education and the reform movements of the 20th century. The three reform movements: the Progressivist (1910-1940), the New Math (1960's), and the NCTM Standards-based Math Wars
can be seen as battles between conservatives and progressivists. Since the existence of public schools in North America, in the late 19th century, there were many public criticism of school mathematics as a process of meaningless memorized procedures without knowing why these particular procedures worked.
The pressure for more meaningful mathematics curriculum increased after the First World War with the increase in international immigration and the rapid changes in society.
John Dewey's work is particularly important because he challenged the Cartesian split between knowing and doing, or abstract and applied knowledge. He believed that students thrive in an environment where they are allowed to experience and interact with the curriculum, and all students should have the opportunity to take part in their own learning. The role of the teacher should be the facilitator where learning situations and materials are carefully structured and prepared in advance. Dewey said that an educator must take into account the unique differences between each student. Thus, teaching and curriculum must be designed in ways that allow for such individual differences. Although Dewey's ideas won a high degree of acceptance in progressive teacher's colleges, most North American classrooms followed a very conservative approach.
After the Second World War both educators and the public recognized the need for more technical and mathematical skills. After the surprise launch of the Soviet Sputnik satellite in 1957, improving mathematics education at the K-12 level became of utmost importance. The resulting movement was called “The New Math”, which gained momentum in 1960 and its influence spread worldwide. The New Math supporters were highly conservative except for a few progressive ideals: they supported understanding over fluency, and to some extent, inquiry and sense-making over absorbing and applying facts.
The NCTM Standards were shaped by both constructivist and progressive approaches emphasizing the development of flexible problem-solving skills, the ability to represent mathematical relationships in multiple forms. The use of calculators and computers was encouraged as an essential part of the problem-solving process. Students should also be encouraged to devise their own plans and explore alternate approaches to problems to gain the ability to communicate mathematically.
The Math Wars today are far from over yet and I think it is very important to separate the education system from political interests. Teaching mathematics should not be dictated by economical or political movements, the goal of teaching and curriculum should be designed to fit the needs of the students regardless of the socio economical circumstances. It would benefit the society as a whole if we could engage students in a reflective inquiry thus increasing their intelligence and knowledge which can be applied to all areas of life.
Good summary, Zsofia.
ReplyDeleteOn the question of politics: It is very difficult, or perhaps even impossible, to separate education from basic questions of political philosophy like:
•who should be educated, to what degree and why?
•what should one generation give to the next?
•are some people/ topics/ subjects better than others? Why or why not?
•what do people need to learn to fit into society?
•what makes a child grow into a good adult?
...and lots more. Education has (maybe unfortunately) always been bound up in questions of political philosophy and politics. If a teacher thinks they are being neutral, they should examine their motivations a bit deeper and will likely find a political philosophy underpinning their ideas around teaching.