Hellobee Boards

@blackbird: exactly this

I don't have a problem with the new way. It teaches kids to understand math, not just follow a formula. If kids had been taught this way all along I don't think there would be nearly the struggle. But when I tutor middle school students who can't remember how to correctly "borrow" it only proves the need for a different way of thinking. Kids dont remember the algorhythms because they never understood them in the first place.

Parents are frustrated because they don't get it...but again, the fact that most parents don't get it only speaks to the need for teaching the next generation differently so that they do have a deep understanding of how our number system works.

I really wish they had phased common core in, starting with kindergarten, and allowed students and teachers to adjust more naturally to the new methods. I think this would have prevented the majority of problems families are having.

I was encouraged to learn the logic, not to just memorize, because the logic of a concept can be applied to many situations, but memorizing something means you'll probably just forget it! I think that's what common core is getting at!

@blackbird: I totally agree with everything you've said. People response on here makes me so hopeful as a teacher. Facebook is full of these "engineer dad" posts and they just spread misconceptions and ridiculousness. SO many adults hate math. SO many kids hate math. And, fwiw, most parents couldn't help their kids with math beyond third grade doing it "the old way" either. New does not equal bad ... I really think people will start changing their minds when their kids are getting excited while explaining all the different ways they can solve a simple problem.

Speaking of math and how it's taught, I watched this recently and found it super interesting:

Are kids really learning to do math in base systems other than 10? That's pretty cool if you ask me. I'm comfortable with math and was pretty confused when we started dealing with that in high school, so I'm all for it! I like the idea of playing with the numbers many different ways instead of fearing them, but I hope teachers remain open to whatever method works for the individual.

@anandam: I learned how to do this in college (it totally blew my mind then!!) but I have never seen it taught to students here. Interesting!

@Mrs.KMM: I hate that. I would be 100% for a method that allowed kids to do math in a way that they felt comfortable, and that made sense to them. For me, touting that the new way is "creative," yet not allowing kids to be creative outside this one way, discredits it as such. The core of being creative is thinking outside the box, not being restricted to thinking one way.

@Mrs. Lion: what @Mrs.KMM said, and what I've also heard from others, is work must be shown utilizing the new math processes. So what happens to the kid who does math in her head, or prefers the "old" way, or another way entirely? From what I've heard, those kids get marked incorrect, even if the answer is correct, if they can't show the new math process. I'm not an expert, maybe this isn't the case at all?

@erinpye: I guess that is true, but not because they aren't doing "new math". The new methods aren't really new. They are just representations of the math that show a deeper understanding of how the numbers work, which is the goal. Eventually if a child wants to choose a shortcut method that is fine, because they would have already built a solid understanding. But the whole "I did it in my head" explanation is exactly what we are trying to get away from. I want ny students to be able to articulate why their solution is correct and how they got there mathematically. The shortcuts don't teach the reasoning, but the new strategies do. Do I want 4th graders using the "new" first grade subtracting strategies? No, of course not. But I would like for them to be able to tell me why "borrowing" works, which is something that most kids who only learn the algorithm can't do.

@Mrs. Lion: I feel that that's problematic. It's frustrating and tedious to write out something, a specific way, when it seems obvious, and the new math way doesn't seem so, to people who think in different ways. How is that fair? Who's to say that a specific kind of written work, or any at all, shows a deep understanding? Plenty of people can do extremely complex problems in their heads, and they don't lack deep understanding. This is saying "you must prove to me my way, that you understand it my way."

@Mrs.KMM: From the CCSS, 4th grade: Find whole number quotients and remainders with up to four digit dividends and one digit divisors, using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models (4.NBT.B.6)

In other words, solve a division problem using place value as your guide, and then show how you did it in a way that makes sense. No where in the CCSS does it say you have to use some funky thing- well, at least in the upper elementary grades. I haven't explored the standards for the little guys too deeply, so primary teachers can correct me if I'm wrong. In 4th grade, for example, it wants them to do the standard algorithm, which I think most people who are anti "new math" would agree with.

.@erinpye: Where kids get it wrong is when they don't justify their answers. Yeah, we don't need 12 year olds to prove to us that 4+6=10 by drawing out little dots, but they do need to include the fact that they solved 4+6=10 as opposed to just writing 10 on their papers.

I wish I could have all of those opposed to different methods of solving math problems come in to my class to see what these kiddos are capable of- it's fantastic to see the change in abilities that has occurred over the last 10 years, despite what the test scores show.