Making Sense of Mathematics

When teaching students math, we often do so in a way that doesn’t help them make sense of the subject. We teach them the steps to take to reach an answer, rather than helping them understand why those are the steps to take.

‘Don’t try to make sense of it; it will only confuse you.’ That’s the message we’ve been giving. That’s a tragedy.

Phil Daro is a member of the team that developed the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. He is Site Director of the Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP) at the San Francisco Unified School District and has worked with the University of California in directing large-scale teacher professional development programs.

This presentation took place on August 12, 2014, as a part of the Summer P12 Mathematics Institute, an event put on by Chicago Public Schools, DePaul University, and Erikson Institute. The purpose of the event was to build and expand capacity to provide high quality mathematics instruction in alignment with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) in networks, schools, and classrooms.