 |
Math Education: A response to "An Inconvenient Truth" Part1
Uploaded by: jamesblackburnlynch
Video Description:
I saw a video on youtube called "Math Education: An Inconvenient Truth" and felt like it needed a response from someone whose career is in math education. This is the perspective of one college professor.
And about the "standard algorithm" for multiplication where we write:
16
32
___
Etc. A little thought leads to the realization that this really is just 32*16=(30+2)*16=30*16+2*16. Hence the "standard algorithm" is identical with this method of multiplication.
Oh, and interestingly, the "standard algorithm" isn't really standard after all. Talk to folks from other countries sometime and ask them to multiply and divide for you. Their algorithm may be quite different seeming from yours. In fact, of course, it's all really the same because mulitplication is truly only one well-defined operation. How you arrive at the answer may appear different, but in the end, at root, they are all the same.
Tags for this video: culture education Math USA
Find more videos in the "People" category
See more videos uploaded by jamesblackburnlynch
| Math Education: A response to "An Inconvenient Truth" Part2 | The Real Inconvenient Truth | Re: Math Education: An Inconvenient Truth |
 |  |  |
| Behind the Scenes of An Inconvenient Truth | Al Gore: An Inconvenient Story | Math Education: A University View |
 |  |  |
Share This Video:
Comments for this video: Show || Hide
Tell a friend:
Which sale price will give you more peanuts for 1$?
I think that's why children should learn to do math. It helps you shop and otherwise live your daily life. I say, keep the higher thinking for AFTER the kids can do their times tables. What's the point of having this discussion unless you first have the basics. Imagine talking linguistics without teaching the ABCs.
This is exactly what the reform is about. When you go to Wal-Mart and the kid behind the cash register can't understand how to make change, it's not because they haven't memorized their multiplication tables. It's that they haven't a clue how to understand the question.
I'd be happy if our students could solve your problem. But they can't. We need more of those.
Fundamentals first then understanding. It's the exact same process when teaching windsurfing for example (personnal experience :)), you start by applying simple rules, once you mastered them you can start explaining a lot more and it gets good. (sorry for my english it's not my natural language)
And I agree that it's all gradual. You don't explain to 8 year-olds the concept of polynomial multiplication. Just mulitplication. Then you use examples and build on those to step up to the next level of difficulty. Just like windsurfing (or tennis, in my case).
Also, I almost never run into students who can't multiply 20*6. They can all handle that. They still can't do math to save their lives often. Memorizing multipication tables is not learning math. Not much anyway.
On tests there not allowed.
I see a lot of foreigners reply to this video, so let me be a part of them.
Somehow, it seems that this problem exists only in America. Other countries seem to be able to teach math to the kids. They teach them the most efficient "standard" method, without any other "creative" ways. And then they teach applications for those methods. They show proofs why this works one way or the other. They help students to understand math on fundamental level, with the help of the equations.
I have tutored an 8th grader, one who was on top of his class. He asked me to check up his homework. I was shocked to see what he was studying. Equations with one variable. It doesn't even get lower than that.
I was just talking with two of my Vietnamese students about this. You make it sound like this is just a question of teachers. It isn't. It's a huge issue that involves teachers, curriculum, parents, students, and culture.
Are you here? If so, you know that a large part is American students don't work as hard as you.
It is sad, very sad, because kids don't want to learn anything, and adults don't force them to do it.
I'm 17, and I'm a freshman at University of Toledo. It's a bit weird, though, that I would be able to complete a degree in Math in just two years.
I'm just gonna tell something that happened to me. I was teaching some 8th grade students how to solve some equations , and I got to this: 2=x . Then I said that we already had the solution to our problem, but one student said that it was wrong because the X was on the right side of the equation and that's how his last teacher taught him....
I don't think I have to say anything else...
as far as 2=x is concerned, it's the fault of the teacher for teaching them that x has to be on the left side and many textbooks also have that written which is sad.