Centre for Research in STEM Education (CRISTEME): Mathematical flexibility: A promising focus for research and practice

Center for Research in STEM Education

Mathematical flexibility: A promising focus for research and practice

Jon R Star, Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Mathematical flexibility is increasingly recognised as an important construct of interest for both researchers and practitioners in mathematics education.  Flexibility can be characterized as a learner's willingness to change strategies based on the particular problem-solving conditions or goals. In this talk, I first provide an introduction to the flexibility.  I then explore different ways that flexibility has been assessed, highlighting successes and challenges in the various forms of assessment.  I then present recent empirical research results on flexibility, and I conclude by suggesting some promising areas for future research on flexibility.