This is a Ted Talk called "Math class needs a makeover". In this speech, Dan Meyer discusses the failings of modern math textbooks and subsequent teaching. He discusses the disconnection from real world problems, that don't have cut and dry plug in numbers, but either a surplus of numbers or a need to find more than what are given. He demonstrates using two textbook problems, the latter of which is a hexagonal prism filling up with water. The textbook shows a drawing of the water dispenser, and provides the measurements needed to calculate the time it'll take for it to fill up. He begins by crossing out everything except "How long will it take to fill up?" He goes on until he has lowered it all the way to a video of him filling up a hexagonal prism water dispenser with a hose. Meyer explains that he plays that for the students without saying anything, and seeing what they say as it takes longer and longer to fill. He goes on to explain that by starting here, the students do not need a high content area literacy to be interested and part of the discussion. By bringing the math intellect to the base level at the beginning of the lesson, they are able to build up together to understand how a video of a water tank filling up is actually a complex word problem that they can all now understand. This technique he's using can be used with any math problem, the idea is just to get the discussion going and get students thinking about what is happening before they receive all of the cookie cutter information.
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With hopes of eventually becoming a math teacher, I found this resource helpful because it was a reminder to the importance of stepping outside of the box in teaching, even in math, which can become a very routine, structured course. I love the teacher’s approach that he discussed in his example- in how he showed a video, allowing the students to understand the concept in a more relatable, easier to understand kind of way, before jumping into the new math concepts. (81)
ReplyDeleteI also chose this resource blog to watch and respond to because it is related to math. I really liked how the TED talk discussed making the student think of the questions they should be asking in a diagram word problem. They should be asking "does it matter how tall the water jug is, not 'What is the volume of the jug?'" I really like at the end his call to action that it is not just on the teacher but on the parents and anyone who is connected to the school to demand a better curriculum. 97
ReplyDeleteI found this video to be extremely helpful and interesting especially because I want to be a math teacher. One thing that Dan Meyer said that really stuck out to me was “math serves the conversation; the conversation doesn’t serve the math”. By using visual aids and real-world situations, such as a line at the grocery store or a water of tank being filled up, a discussion begins in the classroom. These real-world situations connect the students’ experiences with the math content. I certainly want to take some of Dan Meyer’s suggestions into my classroom.
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Loved this video, Callie. Thanks for sharing.
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