Simple Math | Education | Change.org - 1 views
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Another time, a student asked me out of the blue—not in class, just in the course of a normal day—what I knew about counting in base 2 (a.k.a. binary numbers, the basis for digital computers). A spontaneous quasi-class ensued, as she and I looked things up, using a chalkboard to piece together the mysteries, treating it like a puzzle or a grand game: When do you add another digit? When is a 1 replaced with a 0? and so forth.
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Matt Townsley on 08 Jul 09this is an inspiring example. how can we create/foster/encourage more of this type of conversation in our classrooms?
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"A Mathematician's Lament"
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We learn things because they interest us now, not because they might be useful later. But this is exactly what we are asking children to do with math...Of course it can be done, but I think it ultimately does more harm than good. Much better to wait until their own natural curiosity about numbers kicks in.
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I appreciate this point, but it seems to go against so much of the daily grind of public education, i.e. curriculum mapping, assessments, instructional decision making, etc. I wonder how/if we can make this big shift? Have other countries already done so?
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I think a big part of this is how the system was created and its goals. Much of learning does not fit well in an "efficiency" driven model with common standards for all.
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It is not remembered because it is not used. Math is a literacy and about 20+ years behing reading - Reading across the "content areas" - around a long time. "Math across the content areas" - a long way off. In math applied is weak; abstract is king. I recall the quote "Why do I need to learn this math stuff? Oh, you need it for your next math class!" Relevent only for the next math class.
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The only chance we have is to hammer away at the stuff bit by bit every day for years. Even then it does not work...Give me a kid who wants to learn the stuff—well, twenty hours or so makes sense."