I Economics of Education Review är en artikel på väg ut som undersöker effekterna av en matematikundervisningsreform i Kanda. (gratis wp-version).
Här är artikelns highlights:
• We evaluate the effects of teaching method reform on math scores in grades 2 to 10.
• Evaluation based on a natural experiment implemented in the early 2000'sin Canada.
• Impact estimated for the distribution of scoresand mean scores.
• Strong negative effects estimated on all points of the distribution and means.
• More negative effect obtained in the later grades of high school.
Genom det experimentella upplägget anser alltså författarna att de hittat orsakseffekter. Utfallet mäts dock med betyg snarare än provresultat, men effekten är alltså tydligt negativ för både duktiga och mindre duktiga elever.
Då undrar man såklart: Vad var det för reform? Den innebar att traditionell matematikundervisning ersattes av en ny metod,
...designed to enable students to “find answers to questions arising out of everyday experience, to develop a personal and social value system, and to adopt responsible and increasingly autonomous behaviors”. […] In the classroom, students were expected to be more actively involved in their own learning and take responsibility for it. Critical to this aspect was the need to relate their learning activities to their prior knowledge and transfer their newly acquired knowledge to new situations in their daily lives. “Instead of passively listening to teachers, students will take in active, hands-on learning. They will spend more time working on projects, doing research and solving problems based on their areas of interest and their concerns. They will more often take part in workshops or team learning to develop a broad range of competencies.”
Det låter ju bra, men det var det alltså inte. Dessutom låter det för en lekman ganska likt den trend som rått inom svensk skola ett bra tag.
Kanske är matematik ett ämne vars inlärning till viss del faktiskt främjas av att tyst lyssna på en lärare?