Math wars are hell: Can we figure out what helps students learn?

Math scores are low, and educators can't agree on what to do about it, writes Jo Napolitano on The 74.

"More than a dozen states have passed legislation aimed at improving math education, in some ways following the state-driven initiatives that were built around the science of reading." But, unlike the consensus that's emerged about reading instruction, there's no consensus about the most effective way to teach math.

Navigating the Math Wars by the Center on Reinventing Public Education analyzes the debate, and calls for an expert panel to provide "guidance on what is known, what remains open to further inquiry, and where practitioners can implement confidently.”

A 2008 report by the National Mathematics Advisory Panel found that “high-quality research does not support exclusive reliance on either ‘teacher-directed’ or ‘student-centered’ instruction.” It's time to update that guidance, says CRPE.

"Traditionalists value a sequenced teacher-led progression of skills and procedures that all students must master, while reformers emphasize student-centered problem-solving, exploration, and the application of mathematics to real-world problems," writes Napolitano. "Science of math" advocates argue that "math instruction should be guided by empirical research and cognitive science while relying more on orderly, explicit classroom instruction."

Gaps are widening between the strongest and weakest math students, an earlier CRPE report noted. Everyone lost ground during the pandemic, but only higher-scoring students have started to rebound. Students "in the 10th and 25th percentiles suffered steep and lasting losses," writes Napolitano.

Holly Korbey recommends Kelsey Piper’s story about"why education research is often (not always) bad and not reproducible." She also notes a Substack by Common Core math creator and Illustrative Mathematics author Bill McCallum.

In Cakes and Bicycles, McCallum argues that how you teach depends on what you're trying to teach. "How would you teach a child to bake a cake? To ride a bicycle? For the cake I’d probably start by showing how to measure out the ingredients, and then invite the child to try it. Maybe let the child do some mixing. In other words, explicit instruction: start with modeling, then gradual release of responsibility. For the bicycle I’d start by getting the child to sit on the bicycle, get a feel for the pedals and balance, and try a short run while I ran alongside. In other words, guided discovery: start with a bit of productive struggle, then provide strategic support along the way."