Questions and Answers

One of the things I've been thinking about during this semester is the effectiveness of this type of mathematical instruction. I really do believe that this method is effective and could really make a difference in many students' learning. However, I wonder the effect it will have if the students only work with math this way for one year. At best, everyone in our class will leave this semester after having mastered this method. Since we won't all be teaching together in the same elementary school, though, will this kind of instruction be advantageous when surrounded by years of direct instruction?

I realize that the teacher after me would then need to spend less time on the topics I covered the previous year, but I'm still concerned that the curriculum plans wouldn't match up between years of problem-solving instruction and direct instruction. My personal solution would be to teach middle school mathematics so that I could continue with the students for two to three years rather than just one. That seems like an easy way out, but the alternatives are risking a disconnected curriculum, submitting to direct instruction, or trying to persuade other teachers to use this method.