I was watching some videos related to complaints about common core math standards and curriculum supporting them. It is amazing how many of the teaching methods go so far around the bush to teach simple concepts. It seems that the standard algorithms (AlGorethms? LOL) are being left behind. I have noticed a bit of this in text books, but this new stuff seems off the chart. Have educators decided that the traditional algorythms are no working? Perhaps not, I suspect the point might be an attempt to teach reasoning and increase intelligence or something like that. Funny thing is I teach using many of the alternative algorythms, but mostly as hands on activities using math manipulative sets. We use alternatives algorythms in less explicit manner and never as the primary approach to problem solving. I think it does help develop a better understanding of place value, and mathematical thinking etc etc. I do not think that teaching alternative algorythms makes for efficient use of mathematics. It would serve most students nation wide better to be efficient users of math, than to be able to think fun thoughts about math. Even been at a cash register when a cashier could not make change. For that high school student its not so fun to think about math then. Is this change in emphasis another attempt to equalize, another attempt to create an everyone will go to college and work a nice white collar outcome? I think that is part of the problem, but I also think that there are educators in positions of influence who are arrogant enough to think that all before them were wrong and that they can change the world by changing the way things are done. This would be fine if they tested it all before implementing it. It seems to me that an entire generation if going to be an experimental lab. I have some old college textbook for maths, chemistry, physics, and it is amazing to me that they can explain how to work problems with out colored illustrations. The succinctness is amazing by comparison to modern textbooks.
A friend posted this the other day. Her daughter had to write out a sample "math strategy" (which is the only acceptable way of formulating an answer, and MUST be done for each and every problem or the problem will be marked wrong). Then she had to ask her mom to write out the "old school" way of doing things (the teacher's words), so the young lady could see why her mother's way was "ridiculous" (the teacher's words). [I marked out the young lady's name]
And when I showed the example to my kids, they all agreed....and one hugged me and said "thanks for homeschooling me mom!" lol
Isn't this just an illustration of partial products? And what the rest of us teach as a step to understanding how to multiply? Also seems to me like it's going to take a lot of paper to do homework.
The mom posted it and said that this is how the girl has to do each and every single multiplication problem. She said it's always been like this with multiplying double digits, but the issue arose again when they introduced a larger number (so they had to show the example, again, of how the method still works). And, yes, they use A LOT of paper for every math assignment. Because arriving at the correct answer does not equal getting the question correct; the answer is marked wrong (even if it's not wrong) if they don't draw a chart for each problem.
It seems to me that an entire generation if going to be an experimental lab. Yes, agreed. Our charter school said the Spring testing is going to be a lot different. Math will have more writing and explaining about how you got your answer, less multiple choice. Our ES said that's only the beginning. 2015 is supposed to be the complete roll-out. Oh, and the kids have to do everything on computer. No booklets and filling in the bubble. Everyone gets a Chrome Book instead.
