Education Leads to Independence and Better Practices

Gardner's 5 types of minds that each individual and community will need to succeed in the future.

The Disciplinary Mind: the mastery of major schools of thought, including science, mathematics, and history, and of at least one professional craft.
The Synthesizing Mind: the ability to integrate ideas from different disciplines or spheres into a coherent whole and to communicate that integration to others.
The Creating Mind: the capacity to uncover and clarify new problems,questions and phenomena.
The Respectful Mind: awareness of and appreciation for differences among human beings and human groups.
The Ethical Mind: fulfillment of one's responsibilities as a worker and as a citizen.

1 + 1 = 2 and 1 + 2 = 3

Log in the base 10 of 100 is 2 -- this is the only log ya gotta know ;)  this is because 10 to the 2 power is 100
Then the log rules (that make no sense because they work off of exponent rules) follow.

log 10 + log 10 = log 100
1 + 1 = 2

log 10 + log 100 = log 1000
1 + 2 =3

It makes people laugh when they see that:

1 + 1 = 2 and

1 + 2 =3!! ;)

Learning on the Web for a Good Cause

Free Rice started as a vocabulary web site and has expanded to include Math and other subjects.
They donate grains of rice for every correct answer.
Check it out ;)

Uh Oh...Calculators and Beyond!!!

The new Wolfram Alpha site does more than calculate -- it does Calculus!!

It remains to be seen if this is good or evil as we humans cannot see into the future. As technology has evolved so has Math curricula. The SAT is so different than it was in 19XX as I-83/4s have been normalized into the classroom and Excel spreadsheets have invaded corpoarte and daily life.

The debate over technology makes for a great discussion about the future of education and the future of society.

Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones: John Maxwell

As leadership guru John Maxwell states: mistakes are stepping stones and help us to plan for and meet the challenges of the future.
http://www.amazon.com/Failing-Forward-Turning-Mistakes-Stepping/dp/0785288570/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245239881&sr=8-1

Here's to the Guinea Pigs: Geometry Regents Debut!

The much-awaited debut of New York's first Geometry Regents ;)
http://www.jmap.org/JMAP/RegentsExamsandQuestions/3-AdobePDFs/OriginalExams/Geometry/0609ExamGE.pdf

Good luck to all the guinea pigs who took it -- may the curve be kind to you!

National Standard? How's the SAT or ACT?

The Obama administration plans to spend $350 million on national standards -- perhaps Mr. Duncan and his team will consider the SAT and/or ACT which provide an acceptable and common body of knowledge for the college admissions process and is the closest to a national exit exit exam. http://mathconfidence.blogspot.com/search/label/curriculum

In NYC, the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) is a similar indicator for early eighth graders. While some may not prefer standardized exams, test prep can be a tool for teaching and learning especially if old or sample exams are available. Many common Math mistakes and misconceptions can be diagnosed through the use of multiple choice with “good wrong answers” -- this seems to make a stronger impact than just teaching them the right way to do it!!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/14/AR2009061402660_Comments.html

Math Confidence Success Tip #2: Effort and Learning

Be consistent with effort and learning as test grades may fluctuate!!
Math test grades often seesaw due to content difficulty level as well as performance factors (breakfast, mood, weather, etc.). 'Little mistakes' can easily add up to 10 - 15 points.
Recommendation: Think of an 85 as being a very good Math grade.

Math helps with brain processing and speed

I often ask students to think about their thinking (metacognition).
Math helps the hamster in your head run faster.
This is a great metaphor for the brain fitness that Math inspires.

Great fast hamsters in this video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXRH50fvHWA

Education Online -- A Wave of the Future

While there will always be a need for teachers and classrooms, on-line learning is here to stay. The Internet and on-line learning offers a flexible and economical alternative to classroom learning. This article featured Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut and the success they have had with on-line learning in Algebra and other Math classes.

Math Confidence Success Tip #1: Don't Look at the Answers ;)

Don’t write the answers on your review sheet -- otherwise the reworking of the problems may not happen. In Math, skills and knowledge are gained by working and reworking problems until the process is almost memorized (rather than the formulas)

Rising Above IQ: Perseverance and Drive

Perseverance and drive helped our son learn to read!!!

As a Math peak performance coach and the Mom of a dyslexic son, I can see the fruits of hard work and parental involvement. By the sweat of our brows, an awesome whole-language program (Al Dicker Reading program), an excellent reading teacher weekly and a parent/child half hour daily session for the past 15 months, our 9.5 year old son can now read. This afternoon, we finished Little House on the Prairie. Tomorrow brings On the Banks of Plum Creek.

Below are some comments from March regarding Nisbett's book from my Math Confidence blog:
Innate intelligence as measured by IQ can be increased
IQ is not the most important success factor

Women in Science...Mindset for Success: Average = C

Like poster mav62, my high Math SAT landed me into a technical discipline. While there were many more men than women in Electrical Engineering, we studied in groups in public places rather than by twos.

Stephanie Pfirman of Barnard mentions that getting an A- or B+ doesn’t spell the end of your career – it is important that women (and men) STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) majors are aware that most introductory technical courses have a C average. http://mathconfidence.blogspot.com/search/label/mindset

PS Glad you were able to use trigonometry on the job ;)

http://fray.slate.com/discuss/forums/thread/2859080.aspx?View=Flat&ArticleID=2219701

"Test Prep Really Does Help Us Learn"

This New York Times article "New York City Shows Gains in Math" ended with a quote from a sixth grader: "Test prep really does help us learn."

Math Confidence workshops show how test prep can benefit learners:

“Using ‘Good Wrong Answers’ to Achieve Math Confidence and Success”
Test prep can be used as a learning tool as multiple choice tests have tempting incorrect answers that often reflect students’ common misunderstandings. Studying these “good wrong answers” and identifying potential errors leads to deeper comprehension, higher confidence and better grades while improving problem-solving skills.

“Exchanging Ideas and Strategies for Math (Regents/SAT/SHSAT/3-8) Success”
This forum includes a lively and engaging discussion on multiple choice questions, metacognition, TI-83/4 strategies (for Regents and SAT) and topics generated by the participants.

In New York, prior state tests are public information, creating a teaching and learning opportunity for students, parents, teachers and the public at large. Using old or sample exams as an educational supplement, people can raise metacognition (thinking about thinking) and gain content exposure.

The Stuyvesant/Bronx Science exam (SHSAT)is a much more intense indicator (than the state tests) of expectations for early 8th graders. Here is the link to the SHSAT handbook that contains two sample exams.
http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/D6C3C010-DD6B-4B04-BFFB-3A9C240F27C9/0/SHSAT_Hndbk_0809_toDOE.pdf

NYS Elementary and Intermediate exams for all subjects
Grades 3 - 8 http://www.nysedregents.org/testing/eleminttests.html

Click here for high school content http://www.jmap.org/

Robin Schwartz
www.mathconfidence.com