Wendy Kidd-In Defense of Mathematical Foundations

Wendy Kidd Literature Review

TITLE: In Defense of Mathematical Foundations

AUTHOR:  W. Stephen Wilson

Source: EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP/MARCH 2011

SUMMARY:

1.  The problem of the disconnection of elementary school math and college math requirements.

2.  Elementary students need to be taught the understanding and fluency with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers, fractions and decimals.  They also need to be taught complex multistep problems involving operations.

3.  Teachers shouldn’t be teaching alternative algorithms or supporting student invented algorithms. He states,  “A choice of a 10-year-old might not be a good choice for a college student.”

4.  The use of calculators shouldn’t be used in elementary school or even high school. The children only learn to push buttons and are inadequately prepared for college math.

5.  Arithmetic is the foundation of mathematics.  The standard algorithms for whole numbers are the only really big theorems that students can be in elementary school.

6.  Math standards need to recognize the importance of fractions.  “The problem is that without a solid foundation in fractions, students have little hope of succeeding in college-level mathematics.”

7.  The common ore standards do put mathematics a priority.  Students do have to memorize some number facts and learn algorithms.  The Common Core really makes the difference in teaching fractions. “Children are taught  a clear definition of fractions as numbers, and allows the usual four arithmetic operations on fractions to make sense.”

ANALYSIS:

This article has made me realize the importance of teaching the foundational skills in the elementary grades so that kids are prepared for further education in college.