Day 10, July 21, 2015
Basic Facts
Nix the Tricks
Gap Closing Documents
Estimation over Calculation
The thoughts of Dr. Small, Jo Boaler and Dan Meyer on computation, I
think, are parallel. They agree on most
of the fact that teachers should focus less on calculations but more on estimation. Use small numbers and develop first student’s
number sense. Do away with worksheets
and encourage a lot of “number talk”, that is doing mental math with friendly numbers
without forcing algorithm. All of them embrace
the use of technology, to handle the more complex calculations and to focus on
the learners’ interest that makes the lesson more engaging.
"Faster isn't Smarter"
Cathy L. Seeley has the same line of thought with the other three math educators. She emphasizes the importance of conceptual
understanding, followed by developing math skills before actually applying mathematics to
problem solving. While there is a push from Dr. Small and Jo
Boaler to calculate mentally and from Dan Meyer to effectively use technology,
Seeley looks for being realistic on when
to apply mental calculations, technology over the use of pen and papers or
calculators in both conceptual understanding and developing math skills.
Don't Just Fix, Mix the Tricks
Like Seeley, Tina Cardone (Nix the Tricks) discourages the use of
shortcuts, mnemonic devices and tricks. I understand the rationale of nixing and fixing math tricks. Memorizing the formula and rules, hampers
conceptual understanding. If we teach concept
more than tricks, students will retain more.
However, I still believe that there are places for these short cuts in
solving practical real world problems. To
totally nix the tricks may not be right for me.
I would keep my own techniques but not necessarily hand it over to my
students. Instead, I would ask them to
develop their own tricks and give it a name of their own, which in the end is still
pushing conceptual development.
Jesse,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I would like to tell you how much I enjoy the titles of your posts. Second, I agree with your statement that the three educators have similar ways of thinking. I was quite surprised when Ve said today that number sense is actually the most difficult strand for students to master. I would have thought it was the opposite since students start working with numbers very early on. If Ve is right--and I am sure he is--then it stands to reason that something in the way we have been teaching number sense and numeration has to change. Perhaps it is, as Marian Small suggests, spending less time on having students do the same calculations over and over again and instead using that time to develop students' mathematical thinking skills.