A recent edition of The Scientific American looks at this fraught discussion, which seems to have brought an apparently dull world to life with anger and arguments over fundamental ways of life and learning.

The SciAm summarises the ‘Math Wars’ thus:

Advocates of traditional math tout the practice of algorithms and teacher-centered learning, whereas reform-math proponents focus on underlying concepts and student inquiry.

The piece is worth a read if you want to catch up on the kind of debates that get the worlds of maths and education hot under the collar, and concludes by looking towards USA’s forthcoming 48-state Common Core Standards, a development that will have repurcussions on many curricula beyond America’s shores.

To take a sidewards step, it seems there’s something deeper about discussions over the right way to teach maths, something that reveals more about our individual attitudes than any real educational or developmental truth.

But the bottom line, in the God of Whizz’s estimable opinion, is that we can fixate on method at the expense of content. I’ve written about teaching standards and the values we put on maths before.

At Maths-Whizz we’ve tried to make the best online maths tutoring system by splitting the difference between so-called ‘reform’ and ‘traditional’ methods with this simple formula:

(solid maths concepts + engaging animations) x repeat exposure + motivational tools = Raising standards in maths!

OK, so the equation above is a bit silly, but the point I’m trying to make is that the fundamentals should always be solid mathematical principles and a love and thrill in the subject. Teachers convey this in person, Maths-Whizz conveys this with animation and careful design.

Engagement and student enquiry don’t come at the expense of rigour, and a didactic approach doesn’t come at the expense of fun.

[Numbers Wars: School Battles Heat Up Again in the Traditional versus Reform-Math Debate, Scientific American]

BBC Question Time to host Carol Vorderman, creator of new online maths school The Maths Factor

She is joined by Lord Adonis, Boris Johnson, Shirley Williams, Carol Vorderman and the eternally miserable Will Self.

Vorderman’s presence on the programme has nothing at all to do with the World Maths Day launch of her new online maths school The Maths Factor, absolutely not.

Instead, our Carol has probably been wheeled on to discuss the odds of a Tory win in the coming elections (given her association with the Conservative Party) and the state of British maths education. If she happens to mention her new online maths school, well, it happens.

I suspect she may also be prompted to say whether graduates with third-class degrees should be allowed to teach. The Tories have pledged to be “brazenly elitist”, and restrict future trainee teachers to Desmonds, and up. Unfortunately, shadow education secretary Michael Gove was somewhat caught out on this issue recently.

We’ll have to see if Carol is up to snuff, and what level of cleavage she decides to reveal. Tune into the BBC tonight to catch her!

From Countdown to The Maths Factor - Carol Vorderman launches an online maths school

We can’t say exactly how The Maths Factor is going to work, but first impressions indicate that Vorderman, lately darling of the Conservative party’s education task force, will be presenting maths concepts to children by video, and then testing them with simple quizzes.

This is potentially a different approach to the online maths tutor behind Maths-Whizz, but when we know more about the service we’ll be sure to keep you posted!

The Maths Factor launches on World Maths Day, tomorrow, when children of all shapes and sizes spend a day hammering maths questions in the name of international competition, and with the aid of unethically large doses of caffeine.

UPDATE, 4th March, 1740: Watch Carol discuss maths on BBC’s Question Time, tonight.

Robo-Dog available in the Maths-Whizz Shop!

Feed him, play with him, watch him transform, and watch him sleep - it’s RoboDog!

RoboDog is the latest pet in the Maths-Whizz Bedroom. Get busy with our maths tutor and save up your hard-earned credits to add our shiny mechanical canine to your personal maths tutoring space.

Don’t forget to stock up on nuts and bolts - he’s on a stainless steel-only diet…