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Teaching Tips June 2011 |
No, this is not another article trumpeting the spread of the evolutionary theory into yet another subject. It’s about how the teaching of math has evolved over the years.
Perhaps you have seen the email circulating that illustrates the process during the last half of the 20th century. It goes something like this: Teaching Math in the 1950s: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit? Teaching Math in the 1960s: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit? Teaching Math in the 1970s: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit? Teaching Math in the 1980s: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: underline the number 20. Teaching Math in the 1990s: A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He is a selfish, greedy capitalist. He does this so he can make a profit of $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for participation: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it’s okay.) Now that we are a decade into the Information & Technology Age, the evolution continues and the picture is not getting any prettier. For one thing, if a story problem is included in the textbook, chances are the teacher will skip it because it is personally irrelevant to the student. (AKA: the student found it confusing and has no clue how to reason through it; nor do the parents.) Which brings us to another step in the evolutionary process. Since information is expanding at an alarming rate, there is no way students can be expected to know everything. Plus, technology makes it easier to find information when it is needed. So forget about understanding how math operations and concepts work. Forget about reasoning through a problem. Just learn the terms and be exposed to how the formula works. Then when you need it, just whip out your calculator and let it do the work. The added benefit? Since students do not have to understand how to work the problem, we no longer have to wait until students have gone through puberty and have developed the ability to think conceptually and abstractly. We can push the exposure process into earlier grades and pretend that we are advancing math standards. I don’t know about you, but that sounds about as logical as the evolutionary theory of the human race coming about by chance from an amoebic blob and a cosmic bang. Unfortunately, most math curriculum, even those that are popular among homeschoolers, are following this trend since they must bow to the demands of the educational community that represents a major market for them. So how do we counteract this trend? • Consider using supplementary resources that feature word problems. If you look at much older curriculum, the bulk of the lessons involved story problems. • In the upper grades, look for curriculum that has a significant amount of practice problems on the topic of the lesson. In the case of math, the old adage – practice makes perfect – works. The more the student works through the concept, the greater the chances that the student will see the patterns and grasp the underlying reasoning. • In the earlier grades, don’t allow your child to use a calculator. Math facts must be memorized, no matter how tedious they seem. • Ensure that the math facts are mastered before advancing to abstract concepts such as algebra and geometry. • Ask your student what a formula means in plain English and don’t settle for the definition given in the text. This will show that the student understands the underlying reasoning. • Look for curriculum that illustrates each formula in a number of ways. Seeing the concept applied helps students recognize the patterns involved and why the formula was constructed. 716 Words To view more 'Teaching Tips' Articles please 'Log In' and visit the 'Achives' page. |
