Dr SN Gananath
The more serious issue of school maths is what is taught rather than how it is taught. In this article, I have picked up an example from fractions to illustrate the limitations of algorithmic learning and possible ways to overcome it.
Let us look at the idea of division of fractions and it’s implications to the process of teaching & learning mathematics.
Some teachers would be tempted to say “It is one of the easiest things to do and does not warrant a discussion”. To divide two fractions say 4/7 by 2/3 follow these steps.
The author works with Suvidya, an educational resource group, in Bangalore. He can be reached at sngananath@gmail.com.