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Is It Perf? Dismantling Perfectionism

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Title: Is It Perf? Dismantling Perfectionism
Language: English
Authors: Michelle Lo, Teresa K. Dunleavy
Source: Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12. 2025 118(3):210-217.
Availability: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. 1906 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191. Tel: 800-235-7566; Tel: 703-620-9840; Fax: 703-476-2570; e-mail: publicationsdept@nctm.org; Web site: https://pubs.nctm.org/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 8
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: High Schools
Secondary Education
Descriptors: High School Students, High School Teachers, Mathematics Instruction, Standards, Creative Thinking, Teaching Methods, Mathematical Logic, Logical Thinking, Personality Traits, Questioning Techniques, Inquiry, Learning Processes, Cognitive Style, Student Empowerment, Rote Learning, Alternative Assessment
DOI: 10.5951/MTLT.2024.0040
ISSN: 0025-5769
2330-0582
Abstract: The mathematics classroom is particularly vulnerable to these judgments of perfectionism, with endless evidence of students and teachers believing that mathematics is based on an ultimate truth or a single, objective, unique answer. School mathematics still favors students' participation in rote procedures, memorization, and using only a few strategies to solve problems (Boaler, 2016; Dunleavy, 2018). This narrow idea of what mathematics is reduces students' abilities to enact their own agency to explore mathematical ideas on their own and to gain mathematical authority (Hicks et al., 2023). Any limitation on exploring what counts as mathematics is in conflict with students' development of their own creative mathematics identities as learners (Goffney & Gutiérrez, 2018). In this article, the authors present a case for dismantling perfectionism in mathematics teaching and learning. They share how students framed perfectionism during a task, how the teacher used questioning to redirect student thinking, and how the class welcomed unfinished thinking.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1464767
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Michelle+Lo%22">Michelle Lo</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Teresa+K%2E+Dunleavy%22">Teresa K. Dunleavy</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Mathematics+Teacher%3A+Learning+and+Teaching+PK-12%22"><i>Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12</i></searchLink>. 2025 118(3):210-217.
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  Data: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. 1906 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191. Tel: 800-235-7566; Tel: 703-620-9840; Fax: 703-476-2570; e-mail: publicationsdept@nctm.org; Web site: https://pubs.nctm.org/
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  Data: The mathematics classroom is particularly vulnerable to these judgments of perfectionism, with endless evidence of students and teachers believing that mathematics is based on an ultimate truth or a single, objective, unique answer. School mathematics still favors students' participation in rote procedures, memorization, and using only a few strategies to solve problems (Boaler, 2016; Dunleavy, 2018). This narrow idea of what mathematics is reduces students' abilities to enact their own agency to explore mathematical ideas on their own and to gain mathematical authority (Hicks et al., 2023). Any limitation on exploring what counts as mathematics is in conflict with students' development of their own creative mathematics identities as learners (Goffney & Gutiérrez, 2018). In this article, the authors present a case for dismantling perfectionism in mathematics teaching and learning. They share how students framed perfectionism during a task, how the teacher used questioning to redirect student thinking, and how the class welcomed unfinished thinking.
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    Languages:
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        StartPage: 210
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      – SubjectFull: High School Teachers
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      – SubjectFull: Mathematics Instruction
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      – SubjectFull: Personality Traits
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      – SubjectFull: Questioning Techniques
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