Grade 2
Mathematics and Cognition
Comparing the process of problem solving to the process of reading makes so much sense to me. (an aha moment for me) Making connections, making predictions, asking what is important, visualizing, and synthesizing the information in a math problem defines step needed to internalize and finally solve math problems. I can't wait to break down problems for my class this way. It will make the process much easier to understand, because the language and thought process are already so familiar.
This article also forces me to realize that mathematics is as a complicated and complex a cognitive process as reading (maybe even more so). As teachers, we need to break up the steps into small bits of knowledge starting from the conceptual begin just like we do in reading. We would never expect a student to read chapter books before knowing the sounds and combinations of sounds. So going back to the question asked today in class about how far do we back up if a student has missed a concept... We go back to the beginning to build on the basic concepts just like we do in reading.
3 comments:
I took a math course last summer where I saw a DVD of a problem solving lesson where the teacher broke down the math problem in that K-W-C type of way mentioned in the article. It made me approach problem solving in a very different way in my Grade 2 classroom this past school year. It certainly gives me more confidence when I present problems to the class. I tend to write my own problems that I think will be high interest to the class. Does anyone have a source book for Grade 2 problems?
I would like to see the K-W-C broken down as I need a different approach to problem solving. Do you still have the DVD?
Delia, did you get an answer to your question? If you didn't, it could be because Margaret hasn't seen it. I would suggest that you send her an email with your request. If you do that, kindly ask her to cite the source in a new post labeled 'Math Instruction'. Thanks.
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