I actually have many, many more questions. Why do many students, who regularly achieve in other subjects, do so poorly in math? When did it become the norm to have to seek out a math tutor for high school mathematics to achieve success? (Ask around and you’ll find that it is pretty common, at some point, in high school math.) Why did I learn, to my dismay, that it is customary in some math departments to commence the semester with the most difficult units of study in order to “set the tone” of the students’ new reality and to put forth a not so warm welcome to high school math? Why do we talk a good game when we say, as teachers, that we work towards setting students up for success, that instruction is student-centered, and then our practise betrays this philosophy? Upon discovery that one of his failing grades was “normal” for that unit exam, I couldn’t help but feel like the wheels had fallen off the school bus. My teacher brain couldn’t compute it. In 2015, where we know about the pedagogical benefits of the different ways of assessment for learning and as learning, why does assessment feel like it’s 1950 in today’s high school math classes?
2015 academic realities for teachers: class sizes are large, curriculum demands are great and there are the pressures of diploma exam grades and how they eventually reflect on a school’s academic reputation, not to mention the added pressures on standards from post-secondary institutions. I acknowledge this and understand how this impacts my colleagues’ teaching loads and the increased time spent at school. Most high schools also offer time for extra help from teachers before the school day commences and our son is now a regular attender, along with many of his classmates.
2015 academic realities for my son in math alone: 80 minutes of daily math class (55 minutes on Friday), 25 minutes of daily morning help and 1hr/week for extra math tutoring from a retired high school math educator. Homework is optional (considered extra practise but highly recommended by the teacher) and takes, on average 30 minutes a night to complete. All these minutes of learning invested in unit quizzes and exams that all count towards his final grade. No math projects, no inquiry-based group assignments, no do-overs for failing quizzes or tests. No working towards mastery of concepts. And…onto the next unit of study. Good luck to you.
Weighing the two realities, I have to make the argument that, for the sake of our students, sound practise and pedagogical purpose has to trump all other pressures that weigh upon the profession. Ultimately, what do we want for our students (and our kids)? Do we want more students to experience success, to enjoy math and feel confident that they are capable of higher-level math courses? How about the notion that making mistakes and learning from those mistakes can still equal success in the higher math stream? Or, on the other hand, do we want to continue to unnecessarily weed out the students based on high-stakes grades; those students who need more time, more opportunities for trial and error and more authentic practise with peer/teacher collaboration. We already have too many students who feel like they have no talent for math.
Let me end with a video entitled Boosting Math, narrated by Jo Boaler, a professor of Mathematics Education from Stanford University and author of the book Mathematical Mindsets. Along with her students, she has four messages about learning higher math and what the brain research shows when learning math. It is worth the eight and a half minutes of your time. Better yet, show a student who is struggling with math.