2008.07.17
Math concepts or formula
It's a battle that's been raging for decades and The Associated Press has a piece looking at how some parents are forced to take up arms in the Math Wars just to be able to help their children.
I found this interesting after I spent a day with some children struggling to do long division this week. While I worked along with them (testing the rusty skills that most journalists show), the instructor taught me some concepts that it might have been nice to learn. Alas, I was one of those "rote memorization" kids.
So, the article and my own lousy division skills have me pondering that decades old question: Which is better? Concept-based lessons, similar to what is taught in the Everyday Math curriculum used in Montgomery County's early grades, or formula-based "traditional" math lessons?
Weigh in, or, better still for teachers, e-mail me a note on what works in your classroom.
