A popular humorist and avowed mathphobe once declared that in real life, there’s no such thing as algebra. Kathie Wilson knows better. Most of the students in her 8th grade class will be thrust into ...

For many students, algebraic formulas are "abracadabra": they lack symbol sense. Symbol sense includes identifying the structure of algebraic formulas, giving meaning to them, and reasoning with and ...

If Ms. Smith’s 8th grade algebra class works through 10 word problems in an hour, and Ms. Jones’ class works through 10 equation problems during the same time, which class is likely to learn more math ...

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily. Though I’m not certain of this, I suspect that algebraic problem-solving teaches ...