The following articles* from the American Educator, Fall 1999, are available only as
Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files:
Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics*
By Richard Askey
Elementary school mathematics, it turns out, is not so elementary. This means that
teaching it well requires much deeper mathematical knowledge than almost everyone has
thought. There will be no math reform unless we provide teachers with the training,
textbooks, time, and support needed to develop this knowledge.
Basic
Skills Versus Conceptual Understanding*
A Bogus Dichotomy in Mathematics Education
By H. Wu
In mathematics, skills and understanding are completely intertwined. there
is not "conceptual understanding" and "problem-solving skill" on the
one hand and "basic skills" on the other. Nor can one acquire the former without
the latter. This false dichotomy impedes efforts to improve math education.
Teacher Time*
(or rather, the lack of it)
By Marty Shollenberger Swaim and Stephen C. Swaim
A secondary school teacher with a typical workload who puts in a 50-hour week has
approximately 10 minutes to prepare for each class and five minutes per week to review
each student's work. And elementary school teachers face the same time bind. Go
figure.
Different Strokes for Different Folks?*
A Critique of Learning Styles
By Steven A. Stahl
People are different. Certainly people might learn differently from each other,
and we should structure our teaching accordingly. This sounds so reasonable. But it isn't.
Organizing.com
New Unions for the New Economy
By David Kusnet
People are different. Certainly people might learn differently from each
other, and we should structure our teaching accordingly. This sounds so
reasonable. But it isn't.
Why Read?
By Jim Burke
If you have students who say books are boring--or worse--here are some
letters from ordinary folks that might make them think again.
Articles not posted online are available. To request a copy, please send an
e-mail to
amered@aft.org
