A new student looks at Algebra in a new way for the first time. "Here is the expression build me a rectangle." However long it takes them to discover how to do it is how long I wait. Over the years I have learned that I can tell one hell of a lot about a student (or a person) by the way they do this. It is crucially important that they do this for themselves; directed discovery, not memorization and formulae.
Ran the full gamut yesterday, from Counting thru Calculus. Made me come up with a few lessons for little kids to prepare them for Calc and even teach them some basic calc concepts...like distance formula and derivatives via building squares and Pythagoras. Always comes back to the five concepts...and their application. ALWAYS.
Also have an article about critical thinking skills and their development with regard the mathematics banging around in my head.
Am I ever gonna finish a post? Hopefully starting them will cause me to get around to finishing them...need links and more pics...
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