And selecting which of those multiple representations are the ones we really want to draw on in the math classroom. And there have to be a lot of different ways to get at it. When children don't do that, it has been said that they develop what's called an 'algorithmic approach' to mathematics. So it is possible, for example, to know how to add fractions, subtract fractions, multiply fractions and divide fractions without having any idea what a fraction is. We ve got the means now to really tap all the multiple learning profiles in a classroom and to do it in a way that s realistic for a teacher to do that.
Kids can learn in a variety of ways and can solve problems in a variety of ways.
It s very exciting. And with the computer technology, the strategies and teachers who interpret the standards in a broad sense, meaning that the kids can communicate math in a variety of ways, in a variety of languages, then all students should be able to learn math and contribute to mathematical problem solving as a math community in school.