Deborah Loewenberg Ball was interviewed about mathematics teaching and learning in an October 6, 2025, article in El Mercurio, a newspaper in Santiago, Chile. In “A menudo intentamos mejorar el aprendizaje mediante medios que no se centran en los profesores [We often try to improve learning through means that do not focus on teachers],” Deborah weighs in on the factors that lead to math anxiety in students:
No sabemos con certeza qué lleva a los niños a sentir ansiedad por las matemáticas e incluso a desarrollar esta identidad de no ser aptos para la disciplina. Sin embargo, sospechamos que algunos factores incluyen un énfasis en la velocidad y la precisión de las respuestas, en detrimento del razonamiento y las ideas alternativas, así como imágenes dominantes de quiénes son buenos en matemáticas, que llevan a algunos estudiantes a no verse reflejados en la materia.
[We don't know for sure what leads children to feel anxious about mathematics and even to develop this identity of not being suited for the subject. However, we suspect that some factors include an emphasis on speed and accuracy of answers, to the detriment of reasoning and alternative ideas, as well as dominant images of who is good at mathematics, which leads some students to not see themselves reflected in the subject.]
After sharing details about the specialized ways that teachers need to know mathematics and offering some guidance about how to create classrooms where all students can learn to understand and use math, Deborah closes with a reflection on the ongoing educational debate in Chile:
Consultada respecto a qué idea central le gustaría transmitir a propósito del debate educativo en Chile, la estadounidense responde que le parece fundamental "invertir en mejorar y fortalecer la formación inicial y las oportunidades de formación profesional continua de los docentes, garantizando que se basen en la práctica y que los ayuden a desarrollar conocimientos didácticos para la enseñanza, no solo contenidos".
Al mismo tiempo, Loewenberg refuerza la idea de "atender con destreza y sensibilidad la diversidad y las necesidades especiales. La enseñanza es fundamental—la variable más importante en el aprendizaje de los niños—; sin embargo, a menudo intentamos mejorar el aprendizaje de los escolares mediante otros medios que no se centran en los profesores.”
[Asked about what central idea she would like to convey regarding the educational debate in Chile, the American responds that she believes it is essential to “invest in improving and strengthening initial training and continuing professional development opportunities for teachers, ensuring that they are based on practice and help them develop didactic knowledge for teaching, not just content.”
At the same time, Loewenberg [Ball] reinforces the idea of “skillfully and sensitively addressing diversity and special needs. Teaching is fundamental—the most important variable in children's learning—yet we often try to improve student learning through means other than teacher-centered ones."]
Read Deborah’s interview in El Mercurio (PDF in Spanish).