Profound

Understanding Of
Fundamental
Mathematics
(PUFM)
Liping Ma
 Teacher’s Knowledge across topics
Interconnected
Fragmented Coherent
Verbal +
Symbolic
Not US Chinese
connected Teachers Teachers
Various
versions
Never flexibility
discovered Only
concepts Knowledg
Verbal
(Procedurally e Road
Explanati
focused) Packages System Conceptual
ons
Symbolic Derivation
Procedural Understanding
Conceptual Understanding
Importance of Elementary Mathematics
ADVANCED BRANCHES

FUNDAMENTAL
MATHEMATICS
What is PUFM?

CONNECTEDNESS

LONGITUDINAL
COHERENCE
PUFM BASIC IDEA

MULTIPLE
SOLUTIONS TO A
PROBLEM
 Connectedness

ADDITION SUBTRACTION MULTIPLICATION DIVISION

INVERSE DERIVED
OPERATION OPERATION
Basic principles

❏ Able to represent the semantics of mathematics rigorously

❏ Use of mathematical terms during problem solving like addends, sum, minuend,
subtrahend, composing, decomposing etc.
❏ Commutative law a+b = b+a
❏ Reinforcing the basic ideas repeatedly
Multiple Solutions to a problem
Longitudinal Coherence
 D
D D AN
UN
RO ROUN
G
HIN
AC
TE
TEACHING

ING
CH
EA
G T LS
YIN TERIA
UD
ST MA
 STUDYING TEACHING
MATERIALS

TEACHING AND TEACHERS

LEARNING MANUALS
FRAMEWORK

TEXTBOOKS
 WHAT IT IS

TEXTBOOK

WHAT TO TEACH AND

HOW TO TEACH HOW TO DEAL WITH
TEACHING MATERIAL
 DEVELOPMENT OF
TEACHERS SUBJECT
MATTER KNOWLEDGE

HOW TO TEACH
WHAT TO TEACH
STUDYING TEACHING MATERIAL = CLASS PLANNING

GOOD
ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL
TEACHER

THE
KNOWLEDGE STUDY WHOM
YOU ARE YOU ARE
TEACHING TEACHING
 Multiple approaches to Computational Procedure

● Solving a problem in multiple ways.

● Flexibility allows one to get the best solution for a given case.
● Mathematics does not contain isolated rules but connected
ideas.
● This is the constant force in the development of Mathematics.
How is PUFM attained?

REFLECT LEARNING

ON PROCESS FROM
COLLEAGUES/STUDENTS

MATHEMATICS
THOROUGHNESS OF EXPERIENCE

TEACHING MATERIALS SOLVING PROBLEMS

TEACHING

ACROSS ELEMENTARY
GRADES