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Northwest Mathematics Conference October 24-26, 2024 -
Whistler, BC
Welcome to the frequently asked questions page. Here you will find official BCAMT publications that outline our beliefs for mathematics education. Selecting the images or links will open documents in a new browser tab.
There are questions about mathematics education that are both common and difficult to answer. It is not as much about getting final answers to these questions as it is about valuing the discussion and ideas that often result when these questions are posed to a group of educators.
To this end, the BCAMT has compiled a list of thought-provoking questions to be used in workshops or even just around the lunchroom table. We include a perspective for each of the topics, and this is intended to add a dimension to your own discussions around these questions.
We know that good ideas and personal growth often result from collegial interactions and discussions, so we hope that this pamphlet can be a starting place for this to happen.
Children learn mathematics to help them make better sense of the world around them, and to develop skills necessary in their lives. Being able to use mathematical knowledge to determine answers is important.
Becoming confident and competent with mathematics, however, is more about doing than about knowing, and more about communicating one’s thinking than about stating the final answer. Mathematics education should therefore place a priority on the curricular competencies shown to help students develop these skills.
This is important to keep in mind when discussing how to teach and learn basic facts. In this pamphlet, we have addressed some common questions that students, parents, and teachers have asked about basic facts in math education.
Children learn mathematics to help them make better sense of the world around them, and to develop skills necessary in their lives. Being able to use mathematical knowledge to determine answers is important.
Becoming confident and competent with mathematics, however, is more about doing than about knowing, and more about communicating one’s thinking than about stating the final answer. Mathematics education should therefore place a priority on the curricular competencies shown to help students develop these skills.
This is important to keep in mind when discussing how to teach and learn basic facts. In this pamphlet, we have addressed some common questions that students, parents, and teachers have asked about basic facts in math education.
If you have picked up this book, we can safely assume you have questions about assessment in mathematics. That is great, because this book is meant to address those questions. Notice, though, that we say “address” rather than “answer.” This book does not attempt to answer assessment questions in an authoritative, theoretical manner, but instead invites you into a deep, rich conversation with colleagues where the answering of questions happens after reflection and dialogue, and more than likely means that partial answers give way to new questions.
Stories collected and edited by
Dave van Bergeyk
Dawn Driver
Jennifer Griffin
Peter Liljedahl
Colin McLellan
Donna Wright
Katie Wagner
The BCAMT acknowledges that we are fortunate to be able to learn, live and grow on many First Peoples unceded territories.
The BCAMT is a Provincial Specialist Association of the BC Teachers’ Federation.