Word problems are a perennial bugaboo of the mathematics curriculum,
to the extent that jokes about them circulate on the internet. It
should not be this way: word problems are potentially an excellent
vehicle to teach students not only mathematics, but how to think.
However, achieving such a goal will require a teaching corps that is
very comfortable with word problems - with analyzing them, creating
them, varying them, and especially, leading class discussions focused
on word problems. This talk will describe an approach to helping
teachers achieve the needed comfort.
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