Supervisors, curriculum experts, researchers, and government officials are encouraging teachers to change mathematics teaching. In this article we briefly define what reform means, summarize the effects of teaching reform on student achievement, describe how student characteristics influence the effects, and suggest how teachers can ensure that changes in mathematics teaching benefit all children. We highlight two aspects here because of their implications for student diversity. First, a central element of reform is that all students should learn even the most difficult mathematical ideas. In a traditional math program, learning is highly sequenced.
Students have to master basic operations before attempting complicated problems.
Less able students are unlikely to get the opportunity to solve problems that simulate tasks regularly dealt with by mathematicians and other professionals who use math. Second, calls for change in math teaching are based on the idea that children learn best when the teacher focuses on student thinking and gives children opportunities to develop their own understanding of mathematical concepts. This is accomplished through talk about rich mathematical tasks in a community in which students develop and test their ideas with peers under the direction of a skillful teacher. Students taught with reform methods are more likely than other students to develop deeper understanding, be aware of what they know, have positive feelings toward math, persistent when confronted by obstacles, and be more fluent in describing their thinking. The Influence of Student Characteristics - Social disadvantage translates into academic disadvantage.