Slate blogger Konstantin Kakaes dives into math education, offering his insights on how technology, especially calculators, interferes instead of promotes learning in math classes. Kakaes interviews Vern Williams, who teaches in Fairfax County, where my sons attend Marshall High School.
The editors of Slate then brought in a master math teacher to respond to Kakaes’ post, followed by a response from Kakaes. I share these posts as well worth a read to further one’s understanding of math education and demonstrate how difficult it is for journalists to cover education, especially when the topics are very complicated. It is important to note that the editors and writers at Slate are working to cover education with some depth, so do look for other articles and additional discussions from the commentators.
I continue to look for resources to help me understand what makes for effective math instruction. How can we better design math curricula while supporting our math teachers and students in how they use technology? Sylvia Martinez’s posts on Khan Academy helped me build my understanding as I questioned the flipped model for math, which emphasizes direct instruction via teacher-created videos. Hopefully, the daily follow-up classroom discussions and collaboration will be more concept and constructivist-focused, building on the lessons the students viewed the previous evening. But as Mark Hofer mentioned, this is all predicated on students doing their homework. 🙂
On a personal note, I am frustrated to read that the Fairfax County school where Mr. William works is spending funds to put interactive whiteboards (IWB) in each classroom. The lesson learned from the past decade of spending massively on IWB is that there are much more effective ways to spend school technology budgets. Thankfully, the principal of Marshall High School shared with me that the massive renovation of the school right now will not include any funds being spent on IWBs.
As an educator and taxpayer, I hope that the educational leaders of Fairfax County follow the example set at Marshall High School as they renovate schools each year. Thomas Jefferson High School, where my wife works, is up next for renovation. It will be interesting to see what decisions the principal and school board will make in technology spending for that project. They will likely engage their teachers, librarians, instructional technologists, and students to make intelligent decisions that support student-centered classrooms and collaborative learning.
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