An Introduction to the Justification Principle and its Associated Benefits and Challenges within the Mathematics Classroom

There is a sizeable portion of secondary mathematics students who resort to memorizing poorly understood procedures in order to score high on their assessments. In the contemporary mathematics education system, there is too much focus on obtaining the correct answer, and simply not enough focus on the underlying mathematical processes involved. As such, individuals who end up studying post-secondary level mathematics courses end up struggling as they discover their previously developed knowledge was superficial, context specific, and heavily reliant on precedence. Thus, my study’s underlying motivation was to determine a way in which students will not only develop deep conceptual and procedural knowledge, but also be deterred to attempt relying on superficial knowledge. My study has turned to justification as a potential solution and examines the following question: how can justification be implemented into one’s math pedagogy and what are its associated benefits and challenges? The participants of this qualitative case study were two exemplary secondary mathematics teachers. My findings suggest that the implementation of justification into one’s math pedagogy provides several benefits to both the instructor and the learner including: the creation of an environment conducive for the growth and development of deep knowledge, heightening the competence of formal math communication skills, and the creation of a framework of authentic assessment for and as learning practices. The main challenge associated with implementing justification into the math classroom is teachers’ lack of content knowledge. Possible changes to eliminate this challenges include the introduction of a math competency test for initial teacher education programs