Strategies for Mathematics: Teaching in Context

The word that best describes a constructivist mathematics classroom is energy. Young people bring tremendous energy. Rather than fight to contain it, teachers in constructivist classrooms direct this energy by engaging students actively in the learning process.

In these classrooms, students are more likely to participate in hands-on activities than to listen to lectures. They are more likely to discuss with other students their solution strategies than to ask the teacher to tell them the right one. They are more likely to work cooperatively in small groups as they shape and reformulate their conceptions than to practice mathematics rules silently at their desks. In constructivist classrooms, teachers establish interest, confidence, and a need for mathematics by capitalizing on students' energy.