Recently I penned My Last Math Class and shared how I made math learning real for an unique group of students. Following on its heels, I shared information on the 3 R’s —Rigor, Relevance, and Relationships— coined in 2010 by The International Center for Leadership in Education. Now I want to expand this theme into another area […]
Relevance: Discovery, Skills-based, and Manipulatives Read More »
First in the list of things that students say they want from education, according to eSchool News, is “real-world application and relevancy.” When it comes to math education finding these real-world examples seems more of a challenge. I tried myself to find some, was stumped, and had to go back through the Elevated Math lessons
Finding Real-World Math Problems Read More »
In the past few weeks I’ve been reading what others have been saying about Khan Academy and decided to watch some of the videos. Since I had forgotten about limits in calculus, I watched a video about that. I promptly fell asleep. His voice is pleasant enough, but I’m a visual person I need more
Can Salman Khan Teach Math? Read More »
“Back where I come from, we have universities, seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers. And when they come out, they think deep thoughts and with no more brains than you have,” as stated by the Wizard from Oz in 1939. According to him, a Th.D. diploma (Doctor of Thinkology) is
Does It Take a ‘Th.D.’ to Understand the Pythagorean Theorem or Just an Internet Search? Read More »
Yesterday, David Sirota published an article in Salon entitled “How Finland became an education leader.” The article is based on an interview he had with Harvard researcher, Tony Wagner, who narrates a new documentary called, “The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World’s Most Surprising School System.” I’ve never been to Finland. I want to go. But
I know that Singapore Math refers to the curriculum they have in Singapore where emphasis is placed on model drawing, problem solving, and mental math strategies. According to TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) students in 4th and 8th grade mathematics rate higher there than anywhere else in the world. Two years ago
Summer Slide. Brain Drain. Learning Leak. While it may sound like I’m describing a decaying water park, in reality these are terms used to explain the effect summer vacation has on young students and scholastic retention. If those terms don’t incite fear, they should. Students can lose more than two months of previous year math
Slip-sliding Away: A Summer Math Dilemma Read More »
In an earlier blog I shared my concern about my eight year-old grandson knowing how to calculate the correct answer when adding two-digit numbers without knowing the value of the digits in the addends or sum. But helping children understand place value is more than telling them which number is in the ones place and
The First Steps in Developing Conceptual Understanding of Place Value Read More »
