In a Mathematics tweet I have seen the recipe to solve math problems in Primary. As you can see in the image the sheet includes eight steps and one table in which more clues are offered to understand the concepts of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing.
Between the eight steps commented there are proposals such as:
- Read the problem carefully at least twice
- Cover the sentence and explain it with your words
- Underline the data red and the question blue
- Draw a picture of the problem
- Think: at the end of the problem, will there be more or less?
- Make the necessary calculations
The proposal for guidance and math help for elementary school children, to which I am going to give credibility even though I am not sure that these types of recipes may exist, it seems horrible.
And is that to try simplify the study of mathematics, which requires working with understanding, with abstraction, with problem solving, and much more, reducing it to a recipe of: underline with two colors! Draw a picture and read the problem twice. causes rejection.
I would like to know if the level of mathematics in Spain is as demonstrated by this recipe to follow. It also does not seem to me a writing that makes things clear and simple and allows students to hold on to your content so you don't understand what they have to do to solve a problem. Because underlining in two colors ensures that there will be children who may not solve the problem because they don't have the right paints, or who do not know draw a pictureor encourage them to comment that since the problem does not have the correct data, it cannot be resolved.
Mathematics has a good thing and is that It is the only objective subject, or the problem goes well or the problem goes wrong. From my experience, what children have to do is learn what they are taught in the classroom, strive to reason and think, do many problems, and also memorize! Because this recipe seems to say that it is not necessary to memorize since There is always someone who will tell you what you have to do with a simple recipe!.
That in the 21st century, with educational models in which creativity, innovation and autonomy prevail in children, we still think as in the 19th century that mathematics is a difficult subject and that recipes are needed to understand them and put them into practice does not seem to me the best way to improve.
