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Mathematics

The National Research Council (2001) argues that, “all young Americans must

learn to think mathematically, and they must think mathematically to learn” (p. 16). The

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM] (2000) describes the need for

students to “learn mathematics with understanding, actively building new knowledge

from experience and previous knowledge” (p. 2). To understand mathematics is not the

rote memorizations of procedures to arrive at the “right” answer, but rather the process of

exploration, making connections, testing hypotheses, engaging in discussion and

explaining their thinking. In this lesson on finding patterns in area problems, third grade

students worked with a partner to discover what happens to the area of a rectangle if two

or more sides are doubled. Students explored shapes, made observations and created and

tested their hypotheses.

Van Hiele (1999) argues that geometry instruction should be planned to help

students transition from one level of geometric thinking to the next. These phases

progress from an exploratory phase through building upon concepts while learning

terminology and culminating in an integration phase in which students summarize what

they know through the creation of their own activities. In the lesson presented, the

objective was to identify a pattern from which mathematical rules could be constructed.

This activity built upon previously learned concepts about area. Students explored the

concept by drawing rectangles of varying sizes and manipulating variables until a pattern

revealed itself. Students were then presented with the challenge of hypothesizing what

would happen to the area if both sides of a rectangle were doubled. Students discussed

their thinking with a partner and presented their reasoning to the class. As students
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worked through the problems with their partners, they reaped some of the benefits of

sharing computation strategies as discussed by Sherry Parrish (2010) including: clarifying

their thinking, considering and testing other strategies and investigating mathematical

relationships.

The process of talking about mathematics is a key factor to understanding

mathematics. Communication is one of the five process standards outlined by NCTM

(2000): “Listening to others’ explanations gives students opportunities to develop their

own understandings. Conversations in which mathematical ideas are explored from

multiple perspectives help the participants sharpen their thinking and make connections”

(p. 4). Lampert (1990) found that the process of developing a strategy and “arguing for its

legitimacy” became more valuable for students’ mathematical learning than finding the

answer. “Students’ strategies yield answers to teachers’ questions, but the solution is

more than the answer, just as the problem is more than the question” (p. 40). This process

has the added benefit of providing the teacher with a formative assessment, as she is able

to assess for mathematical understanding as students vocalize their thinking process.

Van Hiele (1999) asserts that teachers “must provide teaching that is appropriate

to the level of children’s thinking” (p. 311). In my teaching practice, I have found that

when I allow students to freely explore mathematical concepts through the use of

manipulatives, encourage them to discuss with peers and provide multiple entry points to

engage with the content, students are much more enthusiastic and involved in their

mathematics learning. When I deliver instruction that is at their level of thinking, my

students become excited about mathematics because they are able to make connections

that lead to new discoveries as they move towards a true understanding of mathematics.
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References

Lampert, M. (1990). When the problem is the question and the solution is not the answer:

Mathematical knowing and teaching. American Educational Research Journal, 27

(1), 29-63.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Executive summary: Principles

and standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers

of Mathematics.

National Research Council. (2001). Adding it up: Helping children learn mathematics.

Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Parrish, S. (2010). Number talks: Helping Children build mental math and computation

strategies. Sausalito, CA: Math Solutions.

Van Hiele, P. M. (1999). Developing geometric thinking through activities that begin

with play. Teaching Children Mathematics, 5 (6). 310–316.