Math Teachers — Talk to Me

[Amor de Cosmos]

Math Teachers — Talk to Me

I can find his books online but nothing that links to his educational theory or its implementation. Are you aware of anything?

[San Bernardhinault]

Math Teachers — Talk to Me

Even the hoary old math "stories" used to raise questions in my mind: If three men take two days to dig a hole, how long will it take one man to dig a similar sized hole? Well why are the men digging the hole? What's it for? Then "Why did two of them bugger off leaving one guy to dig the other one?


Interestingly, my response to this was always "Well, it's one person, so he'll be more tired after a couple of days than the three people doing the same job would after one day, so that'll add a little bit. But they won't be getting in each others' way, and that may take some time off. And which of the three is it, anyway? The slow lazy one, or the fast, efficient, strong one? And are there any parts of hole-digging that are much more efficiently done by two people, such as moving large objects, say?

[Wyatt Earp]

Math Teachers — Talk to Me

This?

[Amor de Cosmos]

Math Teachers — Talk to Me

Ah thanks, saw that and whizzed right by it.

Are you familiar with this organisation?

http://www.upd8.org.uk/

They seem to employ some similar concepts to IE but in a science education only context. However someone is obviously throwing scads of money in their direction.

[Wyatt Earp]

Math Teachers — Talk to Me

Rings a bell. I have actually come across that narrative approach in a science context. It wasn't an instant hit with me.

[Bruno]

Math Teachers — Talk to Me

What do you do with high schoolers who lack the basic arithmetic to reduce fractions, factor, or find common multiples, and are now lost at algebra and geometry? They were never made to learn it and so don't see why they should. They'd rather spend five minutes reducing a fraction by trial and error on their calculators than just learn their fucking times table.

I had a 9th grader and the concept of fractions was eluding him. A fraction is part of a whole, less than 1, I explained. How can you have less than 1? he asked. You mean zero?

No, you know, like 1/2. How many halves make a whole?

Four?

Most of the people I work with are like that.

[WOM]

Math Teachers — Talk to Me

Half the people I know are shit at fractions. The other 2/3 make out just fine.

[Bruno]

Math Teachers — Talk to Me

I was about to make a proportionate response, but thought better of it.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Math Teachers — Talk to Me

I have actually come across that narrative approach in a science context. It wasn't an instant hit with me.

For the same reason as math(s), or some other?

[Amor de Cosmos]

Math Teachers — Talk to Me

I recall econ, poli sci (political science), math, stat,* anthro, Am civ (American civilization), bio, chem, psych, but I can't remember if "soc" for sociology was like "sock" or "sosh."

Education is known as "educ." These days disciplines are referred to by whatever initials the on-line registration system gives them.

[Wyatt Earp]

Math Teachers — Talk to Me

Amor de Cosmos wrote:

I have actually come across that narrative approach in a science context. It wasn't an instant hit with me.

For the same reason as math(s), or some other?

Similar. It misses out what's distinctive about the subject.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Math Teachers — Talk to Me

Is this the correct phrasing. Can something be '12 to 18 times less' something?

No. It's stupid.