Students need to decide, ‘All right, well, does the height matter? Does the side of it matter? Does the color of the valve matter? What matters here?’ — such an underrepresented question in math curriculum.

Source: "Math Class Needs a Makeover." TEDxNYED. Mar. 2010. Conference Presentation. Additional Information: This quote is from teacher Dan Meyer's 2010 TED Talk about how math teachers can improve their curriculum to get kids excited about math. In this quote, Meyer is talking about an experiment he designed to get students engaged with math. This experiment requires the student to determine for themselves which criteria are important in determining the outcome. Encouraging this type of thinking, says Gilbert, is unusual in math curriculum. Watch the full TED Talk here: Dan Meyer - Math Class Needs a Makeover

“Math Class Needs a Makeover.” TEDxNYED. Mar. 2010. Conference Presentation.