Released August 3, 2010
RALEIGH, N.C. -- 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,” says 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.”
However, according to Sztajn, in order to reinforce this aspect of learning, you first need to reach the teachers. “We need to educate teachers how to do ‘math talk’ in classrooms and create ways for them to integrate it into their curriculum,” Sztajn says.
--continued on North Carolina State University news
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