Response to Roger Johanson's guest editorial "Math is More Than Memorization" Cedar Rapids Gazette
 

A recent guest opinion attempts to simplify the math wars by categorizing fuzzy math opponents as critics who believe drilling and repetition is the best way to teach math. This is a gross oversimplification and misrepresentation of the facts. While we do believe that some memorization is a necessary component of any effective math program, the bigger issue is the emphasis on constructivism, or discovery learning, as the foundation for teaching "new-new" math. Numerous longitudinal studies that compare teaching methods have shown discovery learning to be far inferior to direct instruction, with explicit teaching of content and concepts. To persist with this indisputably ineffective teaching method should no longer be tolerated by the public.

The controversy can be understood by looking at Johanson's statement "Kids will develop arithmetic skill as they compute while solving problems and thinking." He has no evidence to back up this claim. It is purely conjecture and is entirely inconsistent with 1) the experience we are having in Cedar Rapids, 2) brain research and 3) common sense. The fact is that since this curriculum has been implemented, ITBS computation scores have dropped considerably, and the proportion of children that are not proficient in math has increased. There are plenty of good non-constructivist math curricula available that emphasize problem solving while children develop solid computational skills. Investigations is not one of them. Let's get rid of it before any more children are sacrificed at the altar of ideology.

Kendall Myers