Perhaps declaring the Common Core approach as "Satan's Handiwork", as one parent did, was a little overboard, but lets take a look at what all the fuss is about. I had heard a little about the Common Core curriculum that was spreading in the U.S., the attached article provides a little insight into how it is being received by the public. ABC News article The Common Core approach aims to change the way students look at math by incorporating more conceptual understanding to go along with the procedural knowledge. The problem, as outlined by parents and critics, is that the concepts are beyond what the students are capable of and differ vastly from the traditional math that the parents know and understanding, creating a void in understanding during homework. Here are some sample Common Core problems. What do you think?
Here are some of the questions: 61-38=, 21-6=, 123-59=...
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You need to read Sumeet's blog "Old School vs. New School", which I'll post at the end of my post for your convenience. She basically talks about the same type of approach to math. The sample question she uses is a little more simple, but this is something that students would easily be able to build up to. I think it is perfectly reasonable to expect students, over time and with practice, to be able to do math like this. I don't see lessons of it, especially not in high school, but it's a kind of drill you can do with them to help improve their mental math. I did it with my kids and would go through the steps verbally, kind of like how I would think in my head. At first they thought I was crazy, but they all started to do it and had a lot of fun with it. Highly recommended!
ReplyDeletehttp://abqmath.blogspot.ca/2014/05/new-vs-old-fashioned.html