From the Editor’s Pencil
As an elementary generalist, I am fortunate to have the luxury of being able to teach math within a context, much to the chagrin of some of my students. It means that I can find the math in just about anything we do, but when it surprises me, I become quite excited and jump on the problem immediately. When this happened recently, one of my reluctant math students quickly stepped in with, “Mrs MacQ! Take a deep breath and step back from the math!”
Unfortunately, many language-based elementary teachers charged with teaching math are doing just that. They fear the subject and rather than look for ways to teach it differently and more meaningfully, they plod on using the same strategies they were taught, without regard for how well they work or how efficient they are.
Personal strategies are important, but being able to consistently calculate quickly and accurately in one’s head is valuable, too. Don’t we owe it to our students to give them as many different ways to solve problems as we can find? Don’t we also want to avoid another generation of mathephobes? By exciting children about other ways of describing their world, we can help make the language of math
Anne MacQuarrie
President’s Message
Janis Kristjansson
From the Editor’s Laptop
Anne MacQuarrie
Postgraduate Education Opportunity
We Hear You! Responses to “Mathematics or Semantics?”
Lindy Thompson
Katherine Schock
Lis Cressy
Tammy Gauvreau
Deley Rolheiser
Mathematical Literacy An Idea to Talk About
What should be considered as we develop students’ mathematical literacy?
Conference Invitation
Miniconferences?
Alberta Education Update
Elementary Mathematics
High School Mathematics
For Your Consideration from PEC
Carol Henderson
