October 4, 2006

Today's Quote

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) may hold the title of promoting the most paradoxical anti-scientific and anti-intellectual practices. The NCTM formally rejected empirical studies that showed the effects of different teaching methods. Its basis for this rejection: "The results were disappointing." Imagine an organization that is supposed to understand math, which includes statistics, asserts in effect that mathematical truth is falsity.

The NCTM has supported a long list of failed practices. At the top of the list is "discovery learning." It doesn't seem to matter how many times or how thoroughly empirical evidence shows that this practice is ineffective.


-- Zig Engelmann

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think we are owed a citation for Zig's claim. He includes a quote, so there ought to be a document (or web page or press release or *something*) to point to.

No?

-Mark Roulo

KDeRosa said...

Hi Mark.

I got the quote from here and I believe the source of Zig's quote comes from:

Research Advisory Committee of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1995). Research and practice. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 26 (4), 300-303.