Teaching math, at least in part, by having students solve real-world problems is becoming increasingly popular in schools. In fact, California recently adopted a controversial framework that embraces the approach.
However, educators are still divided over whether it鈥檚 the best way to go, according to an EdWeek Research Center survey conducted this spring.
About half of the teachers, principals, and district leaders surveyed鈥�49 percent鈥攁greed that students learn math best through procedures rather than solving big problems, the survey found, including 13 percent who said they 鈥渃ompletely agreed.鈥�
On the other hand, about 52 percent disagreed with the statement, including 12 percent who 鈥渃ompletely disagreed.鈥�
To be sure, even experts who prefer one approach over the other say that aspects of both are necessary to help students understand math.
Although the debate over the two approaches has sometimes been dubbed the 鈥渕ath wars,鈥� 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it needs to be as polarizing of a choice,鈥� said Zack Hill, a math curriculum writer and education consultant.
鈥淚 lean more toward a constructivist approach,鈥� also sometimes referred to as problem-solving, Hill said. 鈥淏ut I also understand that there are certain things that ... children will not intuit,鈥� such as expanded form, a way of writing numbers to see the math value of individual digits. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not going to come up with that term on their own. There are certain things that we need to teach kids explicitly. I think for me what it鈥檚 about [is] giving them the time and the space to reason around it.鈥�
Janaki Nagarajan, who teaches in the Renton school district near Seattle, also prefers teaching math from a problem-solving perspective. But she doesn鈥檛 believe teachers should limit themselves to just one approach.
Even when educators prioritize problem-solving, 鈥渢here鈥檚 obviously instruction that involves teaching kids how to multiply,鈥� she said.
But she sees a difference between learning basic procedures 鈥渋n a way that鈥檚 just like, 鈥榟ere, you need to know this, but I鈥檓 not going to explain to you what this is or why this makes sense or how it鈥檚 connected to anything,鈥欌�� and instead telling students, 鈥溾�楬ere鈥檚 what multiplication is, how do we use it? How do we apply it to things?鈥欌��
Nagarajan鈥檚 district sets aside time for what it calls a 鈥渕ath workshop鈥� where students play 鈥渇luency games鈥� that allow them to practice using particular math concepts in an engaging way.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not like 鈥極h, we鈥檙e not giving them the building blocks,鈥欌�� she said. Instead, 鈥測ou鈥檙e giving them in ways that kids are interested in.鈥�
Data analysis for this article was provided by the EdWeek Research Center. Learn more about the center鈥檚 work.
