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5-Year-Olds Can Learn Calculus
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of The Atlantic Magazine
Posted: March 10th, 2014
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/03/5-year-...
The familiar, hierarchical sequence of math instruction ... actually has nothing to do with how people think, how children grow and learn, or how mathematics is built, says pioneering math educator and curriculum designer Maria Droujkova. She echoes a number of voices from around the world that want to revolutionize the way math is taught, bringing it more in line with these principles. The current sequence is merely an entrenched historical accident that strips much of the fun out of what she describes as the playful universe of mathematics, with its more than 60 top-level disciplines, and its manifestations in everything from weaving to building, nature, music and art. Calculations kids are forced to do are often so developmentally inappropriate, the experience amounts to torture, she says. They also miss the essential pointthat mathematics is fundamentally about patterns and structures, rather than little manipulations of numbers, as she puts it. Its akin to budding filmmakers learning first about costumes, lighting and other technical aspects, rather than about crafting meaningful stories. Droujkova ... advocates a more holistic approach she calls natural math, which she teaches to children as young as toddlers, and their parents. This approach, covered in the book she co-authored with Yelena McManaman, Moebius Noodles: Adventurous math for the playground crowd, hinges on harnessing students powerful and surprisingly productive instincts for playful exploration to guide them on a personal journey through the subject.
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