By Peg Tyre | March 1, 2006
An Atlantic article reviewing the practice of teaching math through problem solving.
The pedagogical strategy at the heart of the classes is loosely referred to as “problem solving,” a pedestrian term
that undersells just how different this approach to math can be. The problem-solving approach has long been a
staple of math education in the countries of the former Soviet Union and at elite colleges such as MIT and Cal
Tech. It works like this: Instructors present small clusters of students, usually grouped by ability, with a small
number of open-ended, multifaceted situations that can be solved by using different approaches.
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Recommended Reading
Proofs From the Book
– Aigner and Ziegler
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mathematics for the Nonmathematician
– Morris Kline
Math Recess: Playful Learning in an Age of Disruption
– Sunil Singh
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thinking Mathematically
– John Mason
Excellent small book on how to think like a mathematician. Highly recommended for anyone who suffered through the kind of ’training’ in which actual mathematics was confused with the obedient memorization of calculation methods.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Mathematical Puzzling
– A. Gardiner
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Measurement
– Paul Lockhart
Prelude to Mathematics
– W. W. Sawyer
The Joy of X
– Steven Strogatz
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
– John Dewey
Published: 1916
First published in 1916, John Dewey’s Democracy and Education is regarded as the seminal work on public education by one of the most important scholars of the century. In this classic work Dewey addresses the serious challenge of providing quality public education in a democratic society. He calls for the complete renewal of public education, arguing for the fusion of vocational and contemplative studies and for the necessity of universal education for the advancement of self and society.
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Imagining Numbers
– Barry Mazur
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