Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Re: math skills, was Proper scientific notation



Lacl of comprehension of order of operations is EXTREMELY common,as
my diagnostic test has shown. Try on your students: 2*2^n + 3*2^n

This thread raises for me the recurring lament about the lack of math
skills that I see in my classroom. Many of our average
tenth graders are totally dependent on calculators (only 1/3 of
them could do .6/.2 without a calculator on
a recent test). Their algebra skills are dismal, and their
resourcefulness in problem solving, notwithstanding the school's PR
that we are emphasizing problem solving skills, is nonexistent.
At this point my question is really what can I do about this in my
room with my kids, since at this school at least, the math teachers
basically don't want to hear about these problems. (This is despite
the fact that we have a highly touted curriculum which purports to
integrate math and science.)
I'm sure that to some extent we all, at both the HS and college
level, have always ended up teaching some math to our kids, and an
ad hoc reponse to a specific deficit is often the best way. However,
I must admit that faced with students who can't solve 5x = 10, I have
felt that I just don't know where to start.
Does any one have suggestions? Are there any sets of review sheets
for example, that would be appropriate for the skills needed in an
algebra based introductory course?
It's interesting to speculate as to the extent to which the recent poor
showing by US physics students is caused by lousy math skills.

*****************************************
Gary Hemminger
Dwight-Engelwood School
315 E. Palisade Ave.
Englewood, New Jersey
07631
e-mail: hemmig@d-e.pvt.k12.nj.us
********************************************