Just been reading an article from the Mathematics Education Research Journal about student roles and mathematical competence. I’m not quite sure what to make of it and what the article was ultimately trying to conclude. It describes how mathematics is taught in two different ways in a first grade and second grade class in an American school. The children who were part of the study had been taught one way in the first grade class and were now experiencing a different way of being taught in the second grade class. I suppose I was expecting to read that the more discursive, investigative way of teaching in first grade was going to come out as a better way of teaching and that the children would not enjoy being taught in a more traditional manner in second grade. It doesn’t seem to be that way. However, it has made me wonder if the children had been taught in the traditional way in first grade and then in a more problem solving based way in second grade if this would have made a difference to their feelings of security and success.

I think the one message that does, however, come clearly through is that the attitude of the teacher towards the children and their answers is similar in that both teachers treat incorrect solutions as learning opportunities and don’t discount the children’s answers, right or wrong.