Instructional Strategies that Foster Conceptual Understanding

Mathematics educators agree that a conceptually based approach to instruction is beneficial to students (NRC, 2001). Although there has been a call for a reform in the teaching of mathematics for decades (NCTM, 1989, 1991, 2000), there has not been a great deal of change in teaching practices in the United States (NRC, 2001). If research shows that conceptual instruction is more beneficial than direct instruction, why do we as teachers continue to lecture to our students? It can be argued that teachers simply teach the way they were taught. In addition, pre-service teachers enter universities with certain beliefs and attitudes not in line with conceptual instruction techniques that facilitate making sense of problems (Stohlmann, Cramer, Moore, & Maiorca, 2014). This could be a result of pre-service teachers, in their own schooling experience, being taught rules and procedures. It is often difficult to convince in-service teachers to instruct mathematics conceptually rather than procedurally.