From a teaching point of view, the following situation is an ideal one: The students are given a problem and told to try and figure it out with the help of their group. They must then use their various thinking and problem solving skills to come to an answer on their own, without any direct help from their math teacher.
However from the students’ side, it is their worst nightmare. They actually have to think to get the answer, instead of having it handed to them by the teacher. They actually have to work for it. Heaven forbid.
The teacher described here is a very good teacher. He does not simply write out problems and equations and then expect his students to memorize and understand them. He makes his pupils search and push themselves to accomplish the goal. Instead of answering their questions outright, he nudges their thinking processes in the right direction so that they can answer their own questions. This method is much better than simple note-taking; the students are able to remember what they learned easier, and can work their way through tougher problems that they come across in the future. It teaches them to be more independent, as well as improves their problem solving skills.
Personally, would I want to be in a class run this way? Heck no. I’d rather have the answers handed to me, memorize them until I pass the test, and then sweep the knowledge under a figurative rug with everything else to be forgotten. But...I do think that if I were in a class like this, I would learn the information much easier, and afterwards have a greater sense of satisfaction over what I discovered. Even though I would moan and complain about it the entire time, a class like this would be exactly what I need.
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