I'm not surprised to hear about the popularity of
instrumental approach in teaching Mathematics. It reminds me of my non-Math
friends that would often advise me to 'just practice' to ace exams during my
undergrad. There is clearly more to Mathematics than the famous quote 'practice
makes a man perfect'.
Richard's proposition of teachers teaching different subjects
under the umbrella of Mathematics is really interesting. I've always believed some
teachers teach Math better than others. Furthermore, I absolutely agree with Richard
in that knowing why a method works is as crucial as knowing the method itself. It
reminds me of one of my colleagues that hates Mathematics but loves Physics. Although
Physics and Mathematics are closely related, he strongly differentiates the
two. In his mind, Physics makes sense, while Math does not!
If future Math teachers truly and deeply take the challenge of
adding rational understanding along with instrumental understanding, we'll
produce a generation of Math Lovers.
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