As we wrap up Math Awareness Month, let’s take some time to explore and dissect the importance of a quality math education in developing the readiness to today’s students. STEM proficiencies continue to be of the utmost importance in the modern world and math is no exception. Take a look at how to better set students up for success in and out of the classroom with an increased focus on math and improved instruction.
Math Success Often Equals STEM Success
So many of today’s best careers (and what we expect to be the best careers in the future) have very deep and very relevant STEM roots. And, as we conclude Math Awareness Month, here’s your friendly reminder that math is no exception. With the recent movement toward expanding computer science education in all schools and across all grade levels has come a renewed commitment to the importance of having a strong math background to succeed in the 21st century. While the relationship between the two has been somewhat of a controversial subject, especially among traditional educators, it’s becoming increasingly obvious to STEM-savvy teachers that math is still as important now as it has ever been.
A lot of the uncertainty surrounding math is actually rooted in what we define as being mathematically proficient. Some say that true proficiency in math requires a PhD, while others claim that it’s the ability to quickly solve equations mentally. Sure, these both sound a bit different, but they both would theoretically be beneficial skills for people in today’s workforce to have. Besides just making students smarter, math also has the potential to teach them how to actually understand and communicate using abstract language—a skill of vital importance now and in the future. Computer programming, for example—a field likely be home to a large number of today’s students, has its own super abstract languages that are actually very similar to the languages students are taught in math classes.
Beyond laying the groundwork for a future in programming, math classes can also teach kids how to work with algorithms. Algorithms are created so that processes can be repeated, implemented in different ways and applied to new problems. If that process sounds familiar, you’ve probably solved a math problem before. Math is also a powerful way to get students to start analyzing their work on their own. Teachers constantly say “check your work,” am I right? When working through math problems, students are likely to make a mistake somewhere along the way, but this is a good thing. It will get them used to assessing problems, analyzing their work, recognizing where errors have occurred and know precisely how to fix them. We kind of focused only on how a strong math education will correlate to success in the computer science field, but, the truth is, it will do wonders in any of the STEM areas. Computer programming is interacting with our world more and more, meaning that if teachers can model that world through mathematical instruction during kids’ K-12 years, they’ll be well on their way to success.
Math Defeats Students Before They Even Start
Math is a frustrating subject to master—especially as it gets tougher and tougher as students advance in grade levels and they start throwing in more letters than numbers into the problems. Many kids get discouraged and plenty of them start to question whether they’re capable of mastering the concepts and skills they’re trying to learn. A recent report suggested that about 50 percent of young adults identified themselves as “not being good at math.” At the same time, however, 93 percent of Americans agree that developing strong math skills is essential to real-world success. It all starts in the early grades for today’s students.
A lot of the math success that students are looking for can be found simply by changing their attitude toward math. Instead of feeling hopeless despair when it comes to solving complex math problems, teachers need to get them feeling confident. Math is a basic life skill—needed by everyone who expects to survive and thrive in a world that’s being taken over by technology. Certainly, they’re needed to enjoy success in the STEM fields (the best places to work), but they are truly starting to become vital in all modern fields—not to mention the fact that we use it in our personal lives every day just by grocery shopping or cooking a meal. The math success that educators and—to a certain extent—employers demand from students simply is not found a lot of the time.
Studies also continue to show that the US is behind many of the world’s other countries when it comes to math education. Is it because we don’t have access to the latest technology? No. Is it because it’s not being taught often enough? No. Well, then, why is that the case? Perhaps nobody can pinpoint an exact reason for this deficiency, but we still know that there is plenty of room for improvement. Much of the doubts in students come from an internal perception that math is too hard. Simply changing the attitudes of students has shown to be an incredibly important and productive first step. And, who knows, they might wind up inventing the newest and best way to teach math some 20 or 30 years down the road.
Math: Less Instructional, More Experiential
You might be thinking by now that there is a serious problem with the way that math is taught in our education system. Honestly, you would not be the only one to hold that view. According to EdSurge, only about one-third of eighth graders are proficient in mathematics. Beyond that, about half of high-school students, despite access to technology tools, are prepared for college-level math and students already enrolled in community college often struggle with algebra. All of these factors, at one point or another, start to add up and take a toll on student progress both in the classroom and once they think they’re ready to move beyond it.
Many educators point to a lack of hands-on experience as the reason why so many students struggle with grasping math concepts year after year. This certainly could hold some truth; the large amounts of instructional time that traditionally consume math classrooms do not leave much room for a hands-on approach. One of the best definitions of traditional math instruction is furnishing students with clear mandates and imparting perfect directions for exactly how particular math operations are to be done. Most math lessons employ this model—and little opportunity for student engagement—every single day. Could this be the reason why so many students are lagging behind when it comes to establishing mathematical proficiency?
Instruction alone generally cannot help students develop key transfer outcomes that are essential for achieving success both in school and once they graduate. They have few if any chances to develop and apply important problem solving and critical thinking approaches in the math classroom, which inhibits their ability to transfer this technique to the real world. Rather than sticking with this model, technology is an underutilized tool that can help personalize learning to better cater to each individual student—especially in math classes. Deeper learning, on the other hand, empowers students to design their own solutions to complex problems. They take more time to make sense of the problem in front of them, experience the productive struggle and solve it themselves rather than trying to do it all from memory. This experiential side of learning is much more enjoyable and much more beneficial for students.
Becoming the Best Math Teacher
Teachers tend to disagree with impatient students who find what they’re teaching to be far too complex. “It’s easy if you just try,” they say, but, then again, they have all the answers in the back of the book. Being an effective math teacher requires more than the ability to show students how to solve for x or multiply large quantities without using a calculator Teachers need to teach math in an authentic way, showing patience, understanding and relating to their students as much as possible. Like much of today’s hands-on STEM learning, the best math lessons tend to involve room for students to doubt, imagine and play with mathematical thinking.
Believe it or not, there are lots of ways to teach math that go far beyond illustrating problems on the board for an hour or so and then giving a test a few days later. When kids are expected to memorize technical and jumbled mathematical facts, their comprehension ability often suffers. It’s much more effective, especially when they can benefit from using helpful technology, to let students approach problems in creative ways and work out a solution that they fully understand. It’s even okay to let them struggle to find these solutions, which is far more beneficial in the long run than just giving them the answers. They need to know why what they’re learning is true, not simply be told that it is.
Not knowing the answer to a problem is not failure; it’s simply the first step in understanding. Teachers who remain patient and clearly emphasize this point to their students will find that the kids are more relaxed and, as a result, more likely to engage in the important STEM lessons. Heck, even let students argue why they think they’re right and then work to find the correct answer together. Sure, it’s different, but what’s wrong with different? When students doubt, question and play with math problems, they’re taking the time to analyze it from more than one angle and often refining their mistakes to arrive at the correct answer. It’s this type of hands-on education that is much more beneficial for hammering home concepts now as well as preparing students to grow into problem solvers of the future.
Less Than Half of High School Seniors Ready for College Math
Every year, it seems we hear reports about students not being ready to succeed in the real world, not having the necessary skills to adapt and loads of people in different industries questioning whether or not they have been prepared to thrive in a STEM-heavy world. This appears to still be a problem. A recent report published in the Wall Street Journal stated that only 37 percent of American high school seniors were academically prepared to enter college math classes in 2015. Since so many of these students aren’t receiving the quality instruction they need, they’re essentially going through the motions, being handed a gift of a diploma and wind up suffering through one or two years of meaningless college classes in all likelihood.
Despite rising graduation rates, there continues to be little progress in improving overall proficiencies in math. Students, however, need these STEM skills and the ability to apply them in order to have a chance. Isn’t the point of junior high and high school to prepare students for the challenge of college? And, isn’t college supposed to prepare them for the real world? Yes, but, if kids are entering college behind the eight ball, they’re not going to get too far—they’re not going to develop and master the vital skills they will need to know. It all starts, believe it or not, with K-12 math education—and a consistently high level of instruction.
Students at the lower end of the math spectrum are actually getting worse as the years pass, according to the study. Much of this stems from a lack of interest and their cognitive abilities, but some can be said for the lack of quality instruction and modern teaching tools. In many cases, students even lack motivation to excel at math. Perhaps they don’t care about the implications of STEM proficiencies on their future or perhaps they don’t understand; either way, teachers should at least make it known to them that they will give themselves an extremely better chance for success if they focus on working hard to build specific problem-solving skills. Kids need to be engaged in math and, using new forms of technology, teachers are tasked with figuring out how to get them excited and relate to them in a way that will help them now and in the future. It’s going to be essential.
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