New Insights and Their Implications

So far I have learned that our Math scores here in the United States are quite poor when compared to a country such as Japan. I have also learned that the United States does not devote more than five minutes to any one math problem. When we look at a country like Japan and find out that they spend fifteen or more minutes on just one problem, we begin to see why the United States might not be scoring well on these tests. I have learned quite a lot of information in Math Methods these last few class sessions, but this is the one bit of information that really got me to listen. Seeing how poor the United States scores on these tests makes me realize that it is more important than ever to be looking for different ways of teaching math to students. We need to start letting the students find ways of coming up with the answers for themselves, rather than just telling them how to arrive at an answer. Obviously, Japan is doing something different and the United States needs to step up and start doing the same. We need to incorporate more actual thinking into mathematics, rather than using the traditional, here's the problem, here's how you do it, and here's the answer technique. If we as teachers don't start changing things, then our students and the United States will suffer the consequences.