Comments on Reading:
What does it mean to do mathematics?
I often think the role of mathematics becomes confusing as it is often taught as an isolated subject in school. If you think about the historical development of mathematics, all advances and theorems were tied to practical use, such as estimating distances, waging wars, and designing technology. We must remember that performing mathematics involves use of the scientific method (hypothesis/conjecture, experimentation, proof, etc) and involves using logic to solve every day problems. You can see from the reading, students used mathematics in a marketplace setting and developed some very intricate ways to quickly/logically solve every day math problems that they encountered.
How did the individuals in the chapter learn to do mathematics?
The individuals utilized contextual based mathematics in a high-pressure real world marketplace. The author entitles this learning process as "street math."
After reading this chapter, how do you think teachers should approach lesson planning?
The first thing that stood out to me in this chapter was that, "meaning and motivation play major roles in our ability to do arithmetic." This article also pointed out that even if problems have good context, it is key to get your students out of the mode of viewing themselves as being in "math test" mode. They need to really be involved and hands on in the problem to escape the silo of the math classroom. Lesson planning should try to emulate real life contextual based problems that allow students to get hands-on with the problem. Dan Meyer would say remove the scaffolding and thought of only one correct answer to have students conceptually find a way to solve a real problem using multiple ideas and methods.
You also need to remember to utilize your students struggles and ability to teach themselves the best methodology to solve a problem. This will enrich conceptual understanding and retention in students. Let your students struggle and come up with their own conjectures and methods, as this is what the study of math REALLY is.
I often think the role of mathematics becomes confusing as it is often taught as an isolated subject in school. If you think about the historical development of mathematics, all advances and theorems were tied to practical use, such as estimating distances, waging wars, and designing technology. We must remember that performing mathematics involves use of the scientific method (hypothesis/conjecture, experimentation, proof, etc) and involves using logic to solve every day problems. You can see from the reading, students used mathematics in a marketplace setting and developed some very intricate ways to quickly/logically solve every day math problems that they encountered.
How did the individuals in the chapter learn to do mathematics?
The individuals utilized contextual based mathematics in a high-pressure real world marketplace. The author entitles this learning process as "street math."
After reading this chapter, how do you think teachers should approach lesson planning?
The first thing that stood out to me in this chapter was that, "meaning and motivation play major roles in our ability to do arithmetic." This article also pointed out that even if problems have good context, it is key to get your students out of the mode of viewing themselves as being in "math test" mode. They need to really be involved and hands on in the problem to escape the silo of the math classroom. Lesson planning should try to emulate real life contextual based problems that allow students to get hands-on with the problem. Dan Meyer would say remove the scaffolding and thought of only one correct answer to have students conceptually find a way to solve a real problem using multiple ideas and methods.
You also need to remember to utilize your students struggles and ability to teach themselves the best methodology to solve a problem. This will enrich conceptual understanding and retention in students. Let your students struggle and come up with their own conjectures and methods, as this is what the study of math REALLY is.