69ý

Opinion
Mathematics Opinion

Ditch the Math Worksheets and Stop Killing Kids’ Curiosity

By Kathy Liu Sun — May 06, 2019 3 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

As a mathematics educator who also happens to be a new mom, I have serious concerns about the future math classroom my daughter will enter. One of my biggest fears is that the math class will stifle much of her curiosity and creativity that I have witnessed every day during her first few months of life.

In my collaborations with over the past five years, I have found that teachers often wrestle with two historically competing philosophies of educating young children. One philosophy embraces the importance of creating play-based environments, where children learn by exploring and engaging in play. The other emphasizes the need to prepare students to meet state and national mathematics standards by focusing on specific academic skills. These two philosophies are not either-or. In fact, .

We need to create more opportunities for young children to explore mathematical ideas in interactive and playful ways.

With the adoption of the Common Core State Standards and an , our thinking about supporting students’ curiosity and creativity has progressed in recent years. However, as with most change, the implementation of our ideas hasn’t yet panned out the way we might have hoped.

I am finding that teachers are increasingly feeling the pressure to address learning standards in ways that do not build upon young children’s inherent curiosity and inclination to experiment. Math instruction in the early grades is too often becoming more like traditional high school math classes. I have seen kindergarten and 1st grade teachers giving short lectures followed by having children complete worksheets filled with math problems. These worksheets often consist of the same type of problem just with different numbers (e.g., 1+2 = __; 1+3 = __; 1+4 = __) and noninteractive images for young children to count or compare.

What I am witnessing is not surprising given our misconceptions of what it means to learn math in school. Many think that math is all about learning procedures and memorizing rules. At both the high school and elementary levels, procedurally focused learning is not conducive to supporting students’ understanding of important mathematical concepts. In fact, a 2016 study published in Scientific American found that who approach math by relating concepts to existing knowledge and monitoring their own understanding.

It is important to attend to mathematical learning goals while fostering creativity early in a child’s education. We need to create more opportunities for young children to explore mathematical ideas in interactive and playful ways. Instead of doing math worksheets, young children need that allow them to think and engage like mathematicians by testing out different ideas, experimenting with strategies, and explaining their thinking. Unlike traditional math worksheet problems that can only be solved one way, children should engage in problems that have many possible solution strategies and are ripe for discussion and debate.

What can we do as educational practitioners and leaders?

  1. Be curious about how children think. Young children have fascinating strategies for how to solve mathematical problems. Our goal is to support them to develop perseverance, confidence, and critical thinking skills when solving math problems. Rather than telling them exact steps for solving a problem, a good first step is to (“How did you figure it out?”). Then watch to see what the child does before asking another question that is based on what you observed (“I noticed that you moved the blue bears. Why did you do that?”).
  2. Support teachers to change things up. Teachers should be encouraged to focus on the creative nature of math. It’s OK if math assignments don’t look like traditional math worksheets. If teachers give homework, it should be interactive and exploratory in nature, not stagnant worksheets.
  3. Get parents on board by encouraging them to find opportunities to engage in math in our everyday lives and surroundings. A great way to start is by . A collection can be made up of anything found at home, such as coins or utensils. The goal is to figure out how many objects are in the collection and to support children to think deeply about quantity in a way that makes sense to them. In my experiences, children are very excited to figure out how many objects are in their collections and will use a variety of strategies in the process (e.g., sorting, multiplying, adding, etc.).

If we make a concerted effort to push back against traditional math worksheets, my concerns might be alleviated by the time my daughter enters kindergarten.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the May 08, 2019 edition of Education Week as How to Solve Our Math Worksheet Problem

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69ý
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Mathematics Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Innovative Approaches to Math Engagement?
Answer 7 questions about effective strategies to engage students in math.
Mathematics What Happened When A District Put Struggling 69ý in Regular Algebra?
In de-tracked classes with specially trained teachers, some struggling students saw their performance accelerate.
6 min read
A series of diverse student profiles over an Algebra background. Representing Algebra tracking.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/Getty Images
Mathematics Video Here's How All 69ý Can Learn to Enjoy Word Problems
Teachers should weave students' cultural context into word problems, says math expert David Dai.
1 min read
Mathematics Q&A Word Problems Get a Bad Rap in Math Class. Here’s How to Get Them Right
Kevin Dykema, a math expert, shares strategies for teachers to help students tackle word problems.
5 min read
Education Week Math Mini-Course, Week 4, Word Problems, 2700 x 1806
Eglė Plytnikaitė for Education Week