Math

Tomorrow we are going to the spring conference for the MEd program.  We will be joining discussions and seminars given by second year MEd students about their Action Research in their classrooms.  We are going to be able to connect with teachers in our discipline from all across the state.  I am excited to talk to other teachers that teach the same subject that I do. 

It is interesting to find out how other teachers from other school teach specific topics within our curriculum.  All of us teach in Minnesota and all are using the Minnesota State Math Standards as the base for what we should be teaching.  Each of our students will take the MCA math test as a junior and our schools will be judged on that data.  But, we don't all teach the same way and it is nice to sit down and discuss how others do things. 

In my geometry class, the next chapter we cover will be surface area and volume.  It is interesting to get into a discussion about formulas and whether they should be given to the students or whether they should be memorized.  Our world is so different from 20 years ago and now students have so much information available to them through the internet.  When they go out to the real world, they will be able to look up anything that they need, so is it still important for us to make them memorize mathematical formulas? My opinion varies on the subject, I am ok with having my students memorize information, and then give smaller tests just on that memorization.  Then for the larger tests, I think we need to give students the formulas and then we test them on their ability to apply the formulas.  It is a subject that many different teachers have many different opinions on, and it is interesting to be able to talk to other teachers about their opinions.