The book Vision in
Elementary Mathematics by W.W. Sawyer provides many insightful and useful
teaching strategies for elementary and middle school mathematics. The writing is easy to understand which means
all teachers (no matter their area of expertise) and most parents would be able
to read this book. The book breaks down
many math topics into digestible small segments and suggests drawing and
visualizing numbers and stories as the best way to understand each
component. In Chapter 4, Tricks, Bags,
and Machines, Sawyer indicates that we should use exploratory teaching methods
that allow students to:
·
be successful
·
discover and reason
·
be intrigued and fascinated
Although it seems like the ideas presented in this book
are new and novel approaches for understanding math, this book was written in
1964. In addition, these lesson
attributes remind me of something I recently learned in one of my math courses.
In Teaching Middle School Algebra, one
of the most significant ideas I learned was that a rich and meaningful mathematical
task should:
·
encourage student reflection
·
allow students to choose their methods and tools
·
be mathematically interesting and challenging
·
provide long-term insight and strategies
(residue)
·
indirectly teach concepts and procedures
The ideas from Vision
in Elementary Mathematics seem to align perfectly with the “new” concepts I
just learned about. If these teaching
strategies and ideas have been around for at least 50 years, it makes me wonder
why the concepts did not catch on until now.
Why didn’t my teachers use these common sense strategies when I was
growing up and when my own children were in elementary school? I feel that if I would have been taught math
(and all subjects, for that matter) in an exploratory way rather than by rote
memorization, all of the higher level subjects would have made more sense and would
have been easier to master. I feel strongly
that true learning occurs when we make meaning of the material presented, not by
memorizing facts.
This book is a great reference tool for elementary and
middle school teachers, as well as parents.
I purchased this book to keep as resource in my teaching library. I give Vision
in Elementary Mathematics five stars!