Mathematics is one of the areas of knowledge that most problems give to children since their school stage begins. Today we will interview the math, disseminator and specialist in creative mathematics Malena Martín.
Malena Martín is a graduate in mathematics, teacher and mother Homeschooler, in addition to professionally dedicating himself to the dissemination of creative mathematics through workshops and specialized courses aimed at parents and educators. We can also read it in his blog learning Mathematics where it offers resources and ideas that we can use at home and manufacture ourselves.
Why are you a mathematician?
Since childhood I liked to "teach" or as I would say now facilitate and accompany the learning of others. Later on, I also realized that as I learned I was helping others understand something and most times the questions were about math. So it was, as in a natural way, I leaned for mathematics and many years after being teaching children of all ages I decided to do the race.
Has your way of teaching math changed over time?
Has changed drastically. At first, I believed a lot in the "good" explanation and in the repetition, I have to clarify that I always gave classes to high school students. But, in the last year of career I had the opportunity to have a great teacher of didactics of the mathematics, Professor Anton Aubanell, who invited the Professor Maria Antonia Canals. From that moment on, my vision of mathematics, especially mathematics for young children, changed dramatically.
Later, I proposed to know more closely all the work of Maria Antonia Canals, the Montessori method, the pedagogy of free schools and along with my educational work with my children have led me to my current way of looking at mathematics.
is the educational design of mathematics good in the Spanish school? What would you change?
It is difficult, in short, to say all that should be changed since it is not a question of including or excluding specific issues, a much deeper change is needed.
It is essential that teachers have a greater understanding of the internal learning processes of children as well as the subject they teach and how to do so. The child has to stop being the one who learns and become a discoverer who is guided by the teacher. Mathematics has to be something experiential, which is discovered with the movement, with the manipulation of materials and ultimately is passed on to the paper.
