Harvard Education Letter | May 2, 2012
In her piece for the new Harvard Ed Letter, writer Laura Pappano speaks to EDC’s Paul Goldenberg and others about the right time to teach algebra, and ways to encourage algebraic thinking in students before eighth grade. Grade school math is “what you do with paper,” says Goldenberg, but paper work is typically about computation and answers, not mathematical reasoning. Presenting problems orally and framing them as a continuation of earlier ideas, rather than a “frightening new language,” can help, he says.
