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