How Can We Make Math Meaningful?

My earliest memory of math is from way back in grade three, which is over thirty years ago. We had to memorize our multiplication tables. The class would chant as a collective, while the teacher pointed to where we were on a chart. I knew my multiplication facts inside and out. Unfortunately, I did not really have a grasp of what multiplication was or meant. Luckily, that did not seem to matter to my teacher. The class would often play a multiplication “racing” game. We would form two lines, side-by-side, on one end of the classroom. The teacher would stand somewhere in the middle of the room facing us, and she would hold up multiplication flash cards. The first student to answer the question correctly would move forward one step. The first to the finish line was the winner. I was very competitive and was very often the winner, thanks to my diligent work done at home, repeating the times tables over and over each night.

In grade three, this was fun for me; unfortunately, the fun in math did not last and things went downhill from there. Not my grades, though—my math grades remained exceptional. I was always good in math, and by good I meant that I was able to memorize formulae and follow prescribed algorithms to arrive at the correct answer, in the exact way the teacher expected. Unfortunately, as the years passed, math was no longer fun for me. Despite my grades, I did not really feel like I completely understood it. I did not know why the steps involved were important to follow, and, just like with multiplication, I did not understand what many concepts meant. Math class always started with taking up the previous night’s homework. We would then move on to definitions, formulae, algorithms, and procedures. Next, it was time to watch the teacher put an example up on the board. Finally, homework would be assigned. This was the same, day in and day out—a never-ending cycle.

As an educator in the 21^st century, I feel that it is essential to move away from this model of teaching. Rather than the student being a “blank slate” and the teacher the giver of knowledge, we must make math meaningful. Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr are two math educators who are revolutionizing the mathematics classroom. They strive to “make math moments that matter” . They share their strategies on how to create a classroom where students want to keep exploring. The main idea is that the way I learned math is not how it should be taught today because that format rarely leads to students becoming interested or curious about math. They suggest that we start with some kind of a hook activity to spark the students’ curiosity. Then we let the students explore the topic. Let them come up with strategies and answers of their own on how to solve the problem. After they have made sense of it all on their own, or at least tried, then we come together as a group to consolidate our learning. Looking at this model from a young student’s perspective, I can see how this would certainly make the learning more meaningful, less boring, and highly engaging.