tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231784566931768362.post5381906300203410048..comments2023-09-09T08:21:55.454-04:00Comments on MathNotations: Odds and Evens- October 2010Dave Marainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13321770881353644307noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231784566931768362.post-13836051135536377582010-10-06T08:48:22.867-04:002010-10-06T08:48:22.867-04:00Hi Dave, No problem about the delay, we're all...Hi Dave, No problem about the delay, we're all way too busy in our lives.<br /><br />I still find his tone unpleasant. It seems he thinks this is easy, and it definitely is not.Sue VanHattumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10237941346154683902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231784566931768362.post-46489570886505061482010-10-06T08:11:59.475-04:002010-10-06T08:11:59.475-04:00Sue,
First of all I apologize for not publishing y...Sue,<br />First of all I apologize for not publishing your comment until this morning. poor etiquette on my part.<br /><br />Speaking of poor etiquette, I know that I was confrontational and showed poor judgment in appearing to shut down argument. Thank goodness, you had the gumption to call me on it and I appreciate your giving me the benefit of the doubt!<br /><br />Mike's essay in Ed Week was far more extensive than the few excerpts I posted and, on second look, they can be misinterpreted.<br /><br />He was never suggesting "teacher-proof" materials. His position, in congruence with mine, is that of uniform content. A first year algebra class should cover the same core content no matter where it is taught. You know my position on that, and, if I had not abridged his statement, that would have been clearer.<br /><br />As far as the structure of a lesson, he was in no way calling for it to be scripted. I am a strong proponent of collaboration and encouraging student communication. I always attempted to ask every student at least one question in each class period using a variety of questioning techniques. I taught for both conceptual understanding and skill-building. HOWEVER, IMO, THE ISSUE OF FREQUENT CHECKS FOR UNDERSTANDING IN A LESSON IS A SINE QUA NON FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND IT TOO OFTEN GOES MISSING. Walking around the room, having students going to the board, guided practice is part of it. BUT, the "art" of asking questions which clarify, guide, probe for meaning, challenge, and encourage the student to "see" their own error, is a supreme challenge for all teachers.<br /><br />Your point about the importance of having strong math teachers who can recognize, and, more importantly, anticipate the reason for common student errors, is of exceptional importance.<br /><br />Teachers do make a difference, in every context of that phrase.<br /><br />Sue, thank you for getting past my petulance! I think we do have much more to say about all this...Dave Marainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13321770881353644307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8231784566931768362.post-45109961599527349162010-10-04T09:46:52.830-04:002010-10-04T09:46:52.830-04:00"Wrong or hypocritical"? Sounds like you..."Wrong or hypocritical"? Sounds like you're shutting down disagreement before you even hear it...<br /><br />Because I respect the work you do, I still would like to disagree with Schmoker.<br /><br />"First we need coherent, content-rich guaranteed curriculum - that is, a curriculum which ensures that the actual intellectual skills and subject matter of a course don't depend on which teacher a student happens to get..."<br /><br />You cannot 'teacher-proof' a curriculum. To teach well, the teacher must understand the mathematics (and lots more). The student with the poorly (mathematically) prepared teacher will not get the same intellectual content from a course as the students of a good teacher, regardless of the curriculum.<br /><br />I'm sure you're well aware that a good teacher often figures out from the student's mistakes and attempts at explanation, what the student's misunderstandings are. This trouble-shooting requires a deep understanding of both the math and how students learn.<br /><br />I also disagree with his third point. It may be good to conduct most lessons in the way he describes, but it's also important to have students work longer at one problem sometimes, and open-ended problems are an important part of learning.<br /><br />It's not as simple as he pretends. And saying it is shows little regard for all the intelligent, hard-working teachers who struggle to improve their teaching.<br /><br />(I do agree that the U.S. has a big problem with following the fad.)Sue VanHattumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10237941346154683902noreply@blogger.com