Matt Christiansen

When working with math teachers at any level, one of the complaints I've heard over and over begins with the phrase, "If they only knew their facts..." Fluency with basic facts, however, is only one part of a bigger picture, and I always encouraged teachers to think about the conceptual foundation they were building rather than how quickly students can rattle off some facts. As we consider the increased emphasis on rigor, we need to keep in the back of our minds what rigor is: a balance between conceptual understanding, application, and procedural fluency.