education at the right time
If you put pancake batter on the frying pan before you mix it up, you're going to have a sticky, unappetizing mess. Recently, I have been exposed to two educational situations on which I'd like to comment. The common thread can be summed up by the phrase, "Kids learn when they are ready to learn." I spent January and February teaching the eight-year-olds (third graders). By some lucky chance this happened to be the section of the curriculum when they were scheduled to be introduced to BOTH multiplication AND division. At first glance, it seems like a huge task.
I started by teaching the IDEA of multiplication. What does it mean to multiply? Repeated addition. With the guidance of the Director of Instruction, I taught the kids how to find the answer if they hadn't yet memorized it. During our instruction, we drew many pictures of groups and placed a certain number of items in each group, etc. The test over the unit included few straight multiplication problems like 8 x 5 = ? Instead there were problems that demanded the kids to apply their understanding and then use their multiplication skills to create their own problems.
In the box below, write a problem that requires multiplication to find the solution. Then show how you find the solution. Below is a sample problem that you might create:
Junli makes a scrapbook that uses 4 photos on each page. If the book is has 6 pages, how many photos does he need?
4 photos x 6 pages = 24 photos
The students had great success. I loved to see them find the correct answers. It seemed to me that if the students had tried to learn multiplication sooner, they may have experienced frustration and that frustration may have led to dissatisfaction and even hatred of mathematics.
I may not have thought about this observation if it wasn't for the fact that several parents, especially European parents, were concerned that their children were not studying multiplication as early in their school years as they should. They were questioning the wisdom or our basically American curriculum. This is a completely valid concern. My experience this spring shows me that, at least in the area of eight-year-old mathematics, the curriculum is doing well.
My other experience with kids learning well at the time when they are ready to learn involves my son, Maxim, who will turn eight in June. Velcro on shoes is a wonderful invention. Before this year, we hadn't even thought about getting him shoes with laces. This spring, however, when he needed a pair of shoes, he was eager to try laces, and we were eager for him to learn. He may have been especially eager because success in this area would earn him an arrow to put on his Cub Scout uniform. From the first weekend with laces, he experienced only a small amount of difficulty and annoyance. After three days of me showing him how to tie about 4 times each day, he got it and he's been wearing them ever since. Our classrooms are little houses and kids take their shoes off when they enter. Therefore, he's had plenty of practice—taking off and putting on his shoes probably five times each day.
Our experience with Maxim is that it is often tough to teach him new things. He easily gets frustrated and wants to give up. He garnered this skill quickly and easily, however, with only one true outburst of agony.
This time, the pancakes turned out delicious.
I started by teaching the IDEA of multiplication. What does it mean to multiply? Repeated addition. With the guidance of the Director of Instruction, I taught the kids how to find the answer if they hadn't yet memorized it. During our instruction, we drew many pictures of groups and placed a certain number of items in each group, etc. The test over the unit included few straight multiplication problems like 8 x 5 = ? Instead there were problems that demanded the kids to apply their understanding and then use their multiplication skills to create their own problems.
In the box below, write a problem that requires multiplication to find the solution. Then show how you find the solution. Below is a sample problem that you might create:
Junli makes a scrapbook that uses 4 photos on each page. If the book is has 6 pages, how many photos does he need?
4 photos x 6 pages = 24 photos
The students had great success. I loved to see them find the correct answers. It seemed to me that if the students had tried to learn multiplication sooner, they may have experienced frustration and that frustration may have led to dissatisfaction and even hatred of mathematics.
I may not have thought about this observation if it wasn't for the fact that several parents, especially European parents, were concerned that their children were not studying multiplication as early in their school years as they should. They were questioning the wisdom or our basically American curriculum. This is a completely valid concern. My experience this spring shows me that, at least in the area of eight-year-old mathematics, the curriculum is doing well.
My other experience with kids learning well at the time when they are ready to learn involves my son, Maxim, who will turn eight in June. Velcro on shoes is a wonderful invention. Before this year, we hadn't even thought about getting him shoes with laces. This spring, however, when he needed a pair of shoes, he was eager to try laces, and we were eager for him to learn. He may have been especially eager because success in this area would earn him an arrow to put on his Cub Scout uniform. From the first weekend with laces, he experienced only a small amount of difficulty and annoyance. After three days of me showing him how to tie about 4 times each day, he got it and he's been wearing them ever since. Our classrooms are little houses and kids take their shoes off when they enter. Therefore, he's had plenty of practice—taking off and putting on his shoes probably five times each day.
Our experience with Maxim is that it is often tough to teach him new things. He easily gets frustrated and wants to give up. He garnered this skill quickly and easily, however, with only one true outburst of agony.
This time, the pancakes turned out delicious.
posted by James Martin at
11:48 AM
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