Doing Mathematics

Laurian Phillips
Jan 12, 2009

What does a standards-driven mathematics classroom look like? It is a classroom where students are doing mathematics. What does it mean to do mathematics? Stop here, and take a moment to list some words that to you suggest "doing mathematics."
Is it working problems, adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing?; or does your list include words such as investigate, conjecture, justify, represent, verify, explain, predict, describe, and use? These words, and more, are found in the Principles and Standards from NCTM and are also found in most state standards now.

When students are engaged in activities suggested by the above list, they are "doing mathematics." They cannot be passive listeners or simply be copying examples. They must be mathematically mentally engaged in the task at hand. Classrooms where these types of activities are the norm are the classrooms where students are taught to understand the mathematics, not just to memorize a set of facts and procedures for the test, only to be re-taught those same facts and procedures next year. Teaching this way is not easy, especially if it is new for you; but, as we move toward standards-driven education, this is what is expected of us and what is needed for our students. You will not become an expert at this type of teaching overnight, but with planning and patience, it will happen!

Look at the LEARNING-FOCUSED Math Instruction Collection for ideas to help in the standards-driven math classroom