Numbers, multiplication and "right" answers are obsolete, 22nd-century-skills guru Paul Banksley tells Rick Hess. They're "not innovative, inclusive, learner-centric, future-driven, or equitable.”
The math of the future will be "mathalicious," says Banksley. "It’s time for fewer fractions and a lot more fun. Out with division, in with diversity. Out with negative numbers, in with positive feelings.”
Future math will interrogate the equal sign, which validates "equality" and sameness rather than "equity" and diversity, Banksley says. Teachers will transition students "to fifth-generation skills in co-created, dynamic learning environments.”
“The possibilities are endless. Instead of 19th-century problem sets, a teacher might ask how many trees a student would need to plant in order to combat intolerance.”
“Or, how many servings of spaghetti must be thrown on the Mona Lisa to halt climate change.”
Redesigning the equal sign, which will the "equity sign," is the first step, he says. In 22nd-century math, "we’ll be focusing less on whether an equation is ‘correct’ and more on whether it’s just, diverse, equitable, inclusive, and a source of joy."
I feel obliged to say that math visionary Paul Banksley does not exist. It's a parody.
Teacher Ryan Hooper warns of a new fad in math education, or a new version of the old construct-your-own learning fad. “Building Thinking Classrooms" isn't backed by research, he writes. It doesn't fit with what we know about how students learn. But it's catching on.
By contrast, "direct instruction is a method in which teachers explicitly and systematically instruct students through tasks such as step-by-step procedures, modeling, teacher-guided practice, emphasizing foundational skills and fluency, and deliberately crafted lessons." There's lots of evidence it improves math understanding, writes Hooper. But critics say it's teacher-centric and forces passive students to memorize math facts. "These myths are largely untrue," he writes, but they've discouraged teachers from learning about what actually works.