“Mathematics depend upon the teacher rather than the textbook and few subjects are worse taught; chiefly because teachers have seldom time to give the inspiring ideas... which should quicken the imagination. How living would Geometry become in the light of the discovers of Euclid as he made them!” ~ Charlotte Mason
Excerpt from a Charlotte Mason-friendly article at http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/mathtal/
Many children, when learning to read, are encouraged by their teachers to retell all they remember about a story in order to build their comprehension skills. But can similar comprehension strategies be applied to mathematics? Researchers at North Carolina State University say that when teachers work with kids to talk through math problems, kids do a better job of absorbing and understanding the content.
“Current methods of teaching math -- with examples and activities -- are important, but we're neglecting the communications component around it,” say Dr. Paola Sztajn, professor of mathematics education at NC State. “Helping children verbally work through math problems and articulate problem solving is an important aspect of their understanding.”
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