I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have heard these words coming from the mouth of my eldest child. "I don't know why we have to do this! I am never going to use this again in my life!" He is usually referring to Math. My son questions every motive and method that his Algebra or Geometry teacher employs! My son is a bright kid and completely capable of doing the work. It is infuriating to him that a teacher may be wasting his time, teaching him something that he will never use again! "But you will use it again someday when you get a job," I explain. "Oh, no, I won't! I'll make sure I never get a job that requires Algebra!" And so it goes at our house.
In this week's reading I discovered something that I think may really help my kid. What if someone explained to him exactly how and why he might use Algebra in real life. Teenagers think they know everything so they need to be shown real examples of how something is going to benefit them. If more teachers would employ Backward Design, I think there would be less arguments about homework between teenagers and their parents. In Chapter 1 of Understanding by Design the author states "Answering the "why?" and "so what?" questions that older students always ask (or want to), and doing so in concrete terms as the focus of curriculum planning, is thus the essence of understanding by design. What is difficult for many teachers to see (but easier for students to feel!) is that, without such explicit and transparent priorities, many students find day-to-day work confusing and frustrating."
That describes my son! Confused and frustrated! I think my son would not be so resistant to Math if he understood exactly how, when, where and why he would use what he is learning. Thus, if teachers thought more about teaching how and why their students will use what they are learning and less about covering the material in the book, my life would be a lot easier!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I tutor kids in math, and I hear this all of the time from my students. The problem is, although I have the luxury of taking time to tell them why algebra is useful, their teachers don't! It's frustrating, but the teachers are not totally in control of what they have to cover either. They are bound by many restrictions (state, district, and national), and they also have to "cover the material" so that the kids can go on to the next class next year!
ReplyDeleteOf course, there is also the problem of explaining the usefulness of algebra. Most of what it is ultimately useful for is either upper-level science, physics, or statistics, none of which teenagers (or a lot of college students!) have the skills to understand. On a smaller level, the thing that best explains what Algebra is useful for is story problems -- the nemesis of many students!
I do agree with what you are saying, though. I was tutoring a friend a few weeks ago in college algebra, and when he came to my house, the first thing he wanted to know is: what is the big picture here? Where will this knowledge fit in to or contribute to my understanding of how the world works? We spent maybe half an hour discussing this, and it seemed to alleviate his concern. Now that he knows why math is important (if not to him, then why it matters to a physicist) he is ready to learn.
Dosage calculations- is he interested in anything medical? Algebra could literally be the difference between life and death if you're a paramedic or trauma doc or nurse. You have to do dosage calculations quickly and correctly. Even if you're not in the medical field- wouldn't it be great to be able to check your own dosage in your head?
ReplyDeleteI believe teachers that take a minute or two (doesn't have to be long) to discuss real-life applications at the students' level for various topics will help their students "buy in" more effectively as to why they are spending valuable time on the lesson. I saw this as a teacher, especially with older students. Unfortunately, time is limited and teachers are expected to "cover" more standards, objectives, etc. Although there is a difference between "covering" and obtaining knowledge or being able to use the skill in a real-life situation. As a result, the students are the ones who lose out because many need repetition, time to process, application to increase connections and comprehension, and practice to "master" a given skill. With educational requirements as they are, I believe our students are being shortchanged by just "covering" topics and limiting engaged application. (To compound this concern, in some districts what once was expected to be learned in one grade has been pushed to the previous grade [i.e. 2nd grade to 1st grade], where some students are not even developmentally ready to learn a certain skill.)
ReplyDelete