Analysis Of The Article ' Punch Up Algebra With Pows ' By Mark Pinkerton

Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to find out the answer to a question yourself, so you conduct a small experiment? Well that is what this teacher did to get through to his students. But it got a little out of control and the outcome was not expected. The Wave by Todd Strasser is about a history teacher showing students how the Nazis functioned as a group through a little experiment that soon got out of hand.

Math Solutions, a division of Scholastic, Inc. and founded by Marilyn Burns, is a broadly perceived expert on changing instruction and enhancing achievement for students in math. With over 28 years of leadership and working with many school districts nationwide, their master educational consultants create solutions for quickened, feasible chang, sustainable improvement in teacher effectiveness, student learning, and standardized test outcomes. Math Solutions will work intimately with project staff to create and execute the UMI project’s Summer sessions. They will help the project for two weeks in Year 1 and one week in Years 2 and 3. working collaboratively with math faculty

I observed one of Andrew Lyons’ Math 142 appointments. During the observation I was able to see some methods that allowed his student to gain more independence with the material than my typical appointment does. One thing that I observed during the appointment was the number of questions that he used when he was explaining different concepts to the student. By using this approach, he was able to gauge how much the student knew about that topic and allowing the student to engage with the material. It also allowed the student to answer his own questions in a way, as he had to make connections between different concepts that had been covered in the class up to that time.

Edward Burger and Michael Starbird write in their book The Heart of Mathematics: An invitation to effective thinking (2012) chapter 1.4 From Play to Power of several problem solving techniques. There were many techniques and life lessons that I often apply in my own life as well as some I struggle with.

Teachers and students are taking on this task together. It is important that students are challenged to critically think and problem solve so they are able to transfer their learning to new and different situations. Jo Boaler, an expert in mathematical practices recognized the need for students to form a relevant connection to mathematics, with the hope that students would be able to use their learning outside of the classroom. Boaler found that students who learned mathematics in a project-based environment were able to apply their understanding to a variety of situations including assessments (Boaler, 1998). As our world changes and technology gets more advanced, we can no longer predict the situations our students will be in. Teachers must encourage critical thinking so students are ready to enter an ever-changing world.

Walking into a room of aspiring ninth graders and teaching them the basics of Algebra was a startling experience for me in the current state of education in Detroit. As I tutored the freshmen, I noticed an interesting trend; the students I tutored in math, compared to other subjects, seemed to have the most difficulty.

I am great at math. As of today, I have an overall grade of 96.0. To me, math is more of a hobby than a part of school that I must complete to graduate. I apply math to things that are generally not associated with numbers. I prefer quantitative instead of qualitative. I do math in my free time. Math is fun. Math is great. Math is oddly satisfactory. Occasionally, when the channel releases a video that I think I would be interested in, I watch videos by Numberphile on YouTube. One of my favorite videos by that channel is the video titled “ASTOUNDING: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + … = -1/12” because it dives deep into theories, laws, and multiple aspects of mathematics to make me think outside of the box in order to comprehend the concept. When I was in second, third, fourth, and fifth grade, I was placed in a program at my elementary school called “Venture.” During the last three years of it, the teacher introduced the students to something called “Hands-On Equations.” (H-OE) They begin to teach a student multi-step equations. Third grade was learning about the program. Fourth grade was solving problems. Fifth grade was for making connections between H-OE and actual equations. The variable, “x,” is a blue pawn and the opposite of the variable is a white pawn, named “star,” and is shown as either –x or *. By moving these pawns and blocks with numbers to one side of the balance (the equal sign) or the other, the student could solve the equation. Since there were few people in the Venture program, the teacher could have one-on-one instruction with the student. By making connections with H-OE and “y=” equations, I thought outside of the box and exceeded in sixth grade

The quality of the research problem stated in the article was well put together. The researcher stated the problem clearly and identified why it was a problem. The gap in the literature the study is attempting to fill is communication of mathematical thinking. Often time’s students cannot intellectually explain how they got to their answer. When asked to explain, students have a hard time using the correct vocabulary terms. The student 's’ response does not demonstrate the mathematical thinking process; rather it merely demonstrates the student 's’ ability to memorize and recall a method of solving a problem to find a correct answer. Kostos, K., & Shin, E. K. (2010).

Mathematics widens the mind to think critically. It is more than measuring, counting and computing. It opens up other subjects- sciences. As far as Mathematics teaching is concerned, the major goal is the involvement of the students in the practice of realizing mathematical ideas and framing process. One of the encouraging worries about learning Mathematics is the point that it opens up the mind to solve problems that require radical order rational skills. These complications and puzzles provoked the curiosity and challenge the inventiveness of individuals. Giving problem solving into the class improves students’ skills and their ability to reason prudently, rationally and creatively. Hugar criticizes the things we might consider about a mathematics class are processes, equations, and word problems, of which learning them, a student has to master to solve problem. Therefore, in the last decades there has been a move to approach the teaching of mathematics through solving of problem. In this paper, I have written my autobiography on mathematics.

Herbert and Brown (1997) describe a three-phase process that students undergo when solving problems: (1) pattern seeking, (2) pattern recognition, and (3) generalization. The generalization phase is where students develop a “rule” that could be applied to other problems.

When in math class many students say, “What is the point of math I am never going to use it.” That statement is not true, math is used on a daily basis in our everyday life. “Mathematics is the queen of science, and arithmetic the queen of mathematics” (Carl Friedrich Gauss). Not only is math a tremendous part of everyday life but it is also a substantial part of education. Education is something that many people are passionate about, but many people overlook how much influence math has on other subjects. Understanding the importance of math in education will help students` succeed. Mathematics can teach students’ information valuable to their future. Math is valuable to succeeding academically, learning skills, and the development of young children’s minds.

It is up to teachers to give students the skills to set up and solve algorithms that will help to build their math confidence and motivate them to expand on what they have learned.

The most basic reason Zaslavsky et al. (2012) cite as to why proofs should be taught in school is because doing so can increase and strengthen student’s abilities to communicate mathematical knowledge. Most students are more than capable of applying formulas and solving the problems presented to them in classes with a little practice. A majority of these students, however, have no clue as to why the methods they are using work, or if they will work with any set of numbers they are presented (Yopp, 2009).

In 21st century classrooms, an educators teaching practice is vital in developing student’s mathematical knowledge. A constructivist approach is required to allow students to use their prior knowledge to make sense of new information through hands-on activities. To effectively equip students with the necessary skills to see connections in mathematic concepts, Big Ideas must be employed by educators. The Australian Curriculum supports the use of Big Ideas to deepen students understanding of mathematical content.

The benefits of studying and learning mathematics have been the source of much research and debate. Recently, Michigan State University and Wayne State University have chosen to drop algebra from their general education requirements (Joselow, 2016). These two university decisions seem to conflict with the numbers of students who test into developmental mathematics every year. In a 2015 article written by Judith Keller, she stated that “… 60% of community college students require at least one developmental mathematics course…” (p. 4). Deficiencies in math skills occur for a variety of reasons. Today, more than 50% of all college students are over the age of 24 (Center, 2016) and need to improve or change their job skills. Those same students may never have had a college preparatory course. Many veterans returning to civilian life did not complete algebra 2 or higher in high school (Molina & Morse, 2015). Finding new ways to help students brush up on their basic math skills, while getting them ready for either a STEM or non-STEM related field, means more math departments need to move past the traditional lecture method of teaching to reach these diverse students through online and emporium styles of teaching.