Mathematics Education – An enquiry based approach to learning Mathematics…

(This is the third blog post in a series of three blog posts examining where we are with respect to Mathematics education and what we can do additionally. In this blog post, I present an enquiry based approach to learning Mathematics.)

In the first blog post of this three post series, I presented the current advancements in the field of Mathematics education, specifically the proliferation of resources for aiding Mathematics education and associated challenges. I ended the blog post by presenting a need to create a fundamental shift in our approach towards Mathematics education, by asking the question – “What needs to change fundamentally in our approach towards teaching/learning Mathematics?”.

I followed that up with a second blog post where I started exploring this question by examining our current approach towards Mathematics education. I presented my views on our current approach to Mathematics education (which is heavily practice focused) and the issues with this approach. I ended my second blog post with the question – “What can we add to our current approach to enhance Mathematics learning?” Continue reading

Mathematics Education – Examining our approach…

(This is the second blog post in a series of three blog posts examining where we are with respect to Mathematics education and what we can do additionally. In this blog post, I present my views on our current approach towards Mathematics education.)

In my previous blog post, I presented the current advancements in the field of Mathematics education, specifically the proliferation of resources for aiding Mathematics education and the associated challenges. I ended the blog post by presenting a need to create a fundamental shift in our approach towards Mathematics education, by asking the question – “What needs to change fundamentally in our approach towards teaching/learning Mathematics?”.

In this blog post, I would like to start exploring this question by making a probably obvious observation: Continue reading

Mathematics Education – Where are we headed?

(This is the first blog post in a series of three blog posts examining where we are with respect to Mathematics education and what we can do additionally. In this blog post, I present my views on what is needed for enhancing Mathematics education and what is it that we are providing for addressing this need.)

To begin with, let us look at what makes students like/good at Mathematics…

We all know that Mathematics is a subject liked by some students and hated/feared by others. Students who love Mathematics get hooked onto it. Often, they devote a lot of their spare time studying the subject (sometimes at the cost of other subjects). They like being introduced to new concepts and enjoy grappling with problems involving these concepts. Such students become the subject of envy (often, in higher classes) for the way they solve complex problems. 

Many factors are no doubt at play in building a liking for Mathematics, not the least of them being a natural flair for the subject and being exposed to an awesome teacher or an awesome resource (textbook, reference book, a series of videos etc.) at an early stage.  Continue reading