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There could be some truth to the theory. It's far easier to work with numbers in Chinese.
I’ve stopped using the words multiplication and division and started using equal groups of in an effort to help.
I also think it’s a metric vs US customary issue. Fractions are easier with US customary but decimals are easier with an understanding of metric. The close relationship between fractions and decimals is difficult for students because they don’t grasp both.
They should teach fractions and decimals in tandem. It would be easier to understand the relationship to each other rather than two separate. It just confuses. The idiotic math program my son had in grade school would show 3 different ways to solve a problem but not spend a significant amount of time on anyone. The theory was let the kid decide which way they like best. The problem was they didn't get proficient enough on any so really learned nothing.
Sometimes good old fashioned doing something over and over is better. At least from my observation. FYI, son's district eventually dropped the "new" way to teach math after experimenting on many classes for about 5 years. To late for some though. I heard math scores dropped so they dropped the stupid program, Gee what a surprise.
They should teach fractions and decimals in tandem. It would be easier to understand the relationship to each other rather than two separate. It just confuses. The idiotic math program my son had in grade school would show 3 different ways to solve a problem but not spend a significant amount of time on anyone. The theory was let the kid decide which way they like best. The problem was they didn't get proficient enough on any so really learned nothing.
Sometimes good old fashioned doing something over and over is better. At least from my observation. FYI, son's district eventually dropped the "new" way to teach math after experimenting on many classes for about 5 years. To late for some though. I heard math scores dropped so they dropped the stupid program, Gee what a surprise.
I remember the TV show Square One did a very good job of teaching fractions, decimals, and percentages. Too bad shows like that no longer seem to exist.
So the other day my daughter was telling me that the kids in 6th-grade math (she skipped out of it) were being assigned songs to memorize for fractions (as part of their math grade). Also, she said the kids were making flashcards for relationships (e.g. 5/10 = 1/2). Is this really typical? After wasting years participating in Common Core (or Common Core like mathematics), is this a sign of their lack of number sense that they really need to memorize relationships like this?
...parents give a crap and even fewer TEACHERS have any kind of understanding of EFFECTIVE MATH EDUCATION!!!
It has been proven that really little kids don't typically associate things like numbers or letters as representational of words or quantities. They do benefit from things like songs and such to help them become comfortable with terminology and the process of counting / enumeration.
As kids grow they are capable of "representational enumeration" or "counting things out loud". For most kids they master that in early elementary grades. Many kids quickly build on that and move into the "formal opertional stage" when they are not just CAPABLE of doing things like equations but actually PREFER the normal symbolic expressions of things like "equivalent fractions".
For a teacher to force 6th graders into doing things that they should have mastered says lots more about their lack of understanding than anything else...
So we are talking about a problem as reiterated by a parent who heard from a child who isn't even in the class who heard it at best second hand herself?
So we are talking about a problem as reiterated by a parent who heard from a child who isn't even in the class who heard it at best second hand herself?
Sure, lets take that as gospel.
This.
Seems to me that there are a lot of wanna be teachers in this thread. You could use the trick my mother used on me to do math.
This is pathetic! You memorize the times/division tables. Everything else in basic mathematics can be figured out from them. If you've memorized your times/division tables, it's just self evident how to reduce fractions.
A long time ago, I realized that public school was just for gym, music, art, socialization. If I wanted my kids to actually LEARN anything before high school, I was gonna have to teach it to them myself at home. And I did.
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Typical? Sadly YES, because too few ...
