Experiencing School Mathematics

by Jo Boaler

Experiencing School Mathematics is the first book of its kind to provide direct evidence for the effectiveness of 'traditional' and 'progressive' teaching methods. It reports upon careful and extensive case studies of two schools which taught mathematics in totally different ways. Three hundred students were followed over three years and the interviews that are reproduced in the book give compelling insights into what it meant to be a student in the classrooms of the two schools. The different school approaches are compared and analysed using student interviews, lesson observations, questionnaires given to students and staff and a range of different assessments, including GCSE examinations. Questions are raised the effectiveness of different teaching methods in preparing students for the demands of the 'real world' and the twenty-first century; the impact of setted and mixed ability teaching upon student attitude and achievement; gender and teaching styles; and new evidence is provided for each.
The book draws some radical new conclusions about the ways that traditional teaching methods lead to limited forms of knowledge that are ineffective in non-school settings. The book will be essential reading for maths teachers, parents and policy makers in education.

Genres: Education, Mathematics

180 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

About the author

Dr Jo Boaler is a Professor of Mathematics Education at Stanford University and co-founder of www.youcubed.org. Formerly the Marie Curie Professor of Mathematics Education for England, a mathematics teacher in London comprehensive schools and a researcher at King's College, London. She is the author of eight books including What's Math Got To Do With It? (2015) and Mathematical Mindsets (2016). She is the recipient of the NCSM award for equity, the author of the first MOOC on mathematics learning for teachers and parents, a White House presenter and an advisor to the PISA team at the OECD.