This article strikes a chord with me and my experiences in teaching mathematics at the intermediate level especially over the past ten years or so. It is not that the students and teachers did not necessarily cover the material in their curriculum per say, but rather the way in which some of the concepts were constructed in the mathematical repertoire. The vast amount of misconceptions I find myself unravelling on a daily basis is often times astonishing. I have been trying to make the case for years that the availability of specialist teachers for each subject area is one of the keys for student success in any discipline. This is not to say that I have not experienced a similar experience in my teaching experience myself, however having some expert knowledge and specialized training in the field of mathematics education, I am able to pick up on these misconceptions and set things straight for my pupils.
When I spent a year with the district office as an itinerant for math teacher support in our small schools I was immediately placed in a classroom with teachers who had little or no training in teaching mathematics, and to make things worse, they were expected to multi-grade or multi-course at the same time. I realise that this ism an extreme situation, however it is a more common occurrence that we would care to think.
I have to agree completely with the authors assessment of the situation here, fundamentals and basics need to be taught properly in order for pupils of mathematics to build their foundations for future success in the field.
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