Between Oprah's special report today on how poorly our schools are performing compared to other nations, and the study cited in this article, I'm feeling a little pressure... :-))) I liked this article a great deal, and I can see how effective it can be to use those key reading strategies to teach math. The study mentioned in the beginning of the article quotes that effective teachers "not only assigned their students challenging mathematics problems, but also used active questiong and dialogue to help students see and understand the connections among math concepts as they solved problems." I've always struggled with the reasong part of math, especially explaining my reasoning. Because this is a weakness, I see it as a weakness in my teaching as well. This week in our class the instructors have done a great job of eliciting reasoning and explanations from the students, and it has helped me as a learner! Great role modeling... thanks Sean, Maggie, and Peg!! It really rings clear how vital it is to discuss concepts with groups of students, and they WILL come up with some good reasoning if given the right opportunity and the right questions. I am certainly adding this as another goal to work at!
So did anyone else see Oprah's report???? Are you as frightened for our future as Oprah and Bill Gates ???
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I did not see the special Oprah report, but I agree with you that reasoning can be a difficult thing to explain. I, too, liked the article. To put it in a nutshell, it is all about the process of how students arrive at an answer, conclusion, inference. The process is where they are learning and thinking, making connections, etc. and practice of questioning by the teacher and students is key. This makes a great deal of sense and encourages us to get away from being keeper of the keys. It de-emphasizes the "answer" even though an accurate or reasonable answer is certainly important and a part of the process. I was also impressed by all the ways listed that students can make a representation. I did not think of discussing/communicating as a representation or some of the others, but it makes sense.
The author's emphasis on reading comprehension as a coexisting math learning process resonated with me. I wonder about the best manner of doing this. The focus on integrating the 7 steps of reading comprehension with the five math processes seems brilliant. The process of doing it seems key.
Hi!
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