Name: Math class needs a makeover
Uploaded: 2010-05-13T08:23:00Z
Duration: 11 min 22 s
Description: Today's math curriculum is teaching students to expect -- and excel at -- paint-by-numbers classwork, robbing kids of a skill more important than solving problems: formulating them. Dan Meyer shows classroom-tested math exercises that prompt students to stop and think.

Dan Meyer: Math class needs a makeover

Math class needs a makeover

Today's math curriculum is teaching students to expect -- and excel at -- paint-by-numbers classwork, robbing kids of a skill more important than solving problems: formulating them. Dan Meyer shows classroom-tested math exercises that prompt students to stop and think.

Current math classrooms reward following formulas instead of developing genuine reasoning. Textbooks walk students through predictable problems, leaving them unprepared for real-world challenges. In one vivid example, students can pass physics units by decoding textbook patterns rather than understanding physics itself. Revamping lessons to spark conversation and intuition helps students become patient, creative problem solvers.