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These resources have been reviewed and selected by STEM Learning’s team of education specialists for factual accuracy and relevance to teaching STEM subjects in UK schools.

Doing and Construing

This article, from the Association of Teachers of Mathematics (ATM) publication ‘Mathematics Teaching’, is written by Pete Griffin and taken from MT227.

The notion of ‘understanding’ and its place in the learning process is often placed in sharper focus when considered in the context of learning and teaching algebra. There are tensions between ‘doing’ algebra, following algorithms, using ‘rules’, or ‘tricks’, and understanding ‘what you are doing’. How does this impact the ‘way’ that algebra is ‘taught’? Without doubt, there is a debate to be had. The ideas, questions and challenges highlighted here pose an imperative to such a debate.

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