Teach fewer mathematics problems more deeply rather than covering more problems broadly¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The paper's forward-looking recommendation is that what matters is quality of engagement over quantity of coverage: "not how much we teach but how well, not how many problems students practice but how well students understand the problems, not how broadly students learn but how deeply." It recommends intense focus on one or two problems per lesson, as observed in Japanese classrooms, so students develop both better mathematics and a heightened sense of academic excellence.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Instruction must allow sufficient lesson time to concentrate on one or two problems rather than rushing through many

Constraints¶

• The paper presents this as a hypothesis grounded in the Japanese-American comparison; the causal role of mastery learning is not established

Target Learners¶

• elementary school mathematics students

Target Learning Goals¶

• deep understanding of mathematics problems
• mathematics achievement

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Waddington, Tad S. H. (1995). Why Mastery Matters. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED394982