Subject: Standards in Math

Posted by Warren Farr on 12/4/2010
In Reply To:Standards in Math Posted by Richard Turnock on 12/4/2010

Message:

This is a terrific thread with lots of critical thinking going on. Here are my "two cents":

As a business owner, I find myself in the world of adult learning. As the father of two teenagers, I also find myself in the world of high school learning. The biggest difference between the two for me is that adults want to know what they need to know to solve the problems that they have, while my teens want to learn what is going to be on the test.

I am often frustrated when helping my teens to learn when they do not want to take the time to dig into a "real" problem. I believe that the real problem experience will help them to better understand and retain the material that they are learning while providing some fun and motivation along the way. I often have to rely on my experience to make up such problems. They are frustrated when they have to spend the extra time on issues not on the test.

The goal with teens is a difficult one. They need to learn the tools and techniques to solve future unknown real problems. What are the 10 most important math skills asks this question.

I am also often frustrated when helping adult employees when they do not want to take the time to understand the reasoning behind the issue. They mostly want to solve the problem at hand, create a solution and move on. However, without basic curiosity about how things works, they are not prepared to tackle the next problem that comes along. If they did not learn the tools and techniques while in school, then they must take the time to do so now.

In both cases taking the time to be curious must be given a higher priority. Solving the problem (either scoring well on the test, or answering the bosses question) is important, but being curious enough to understand the issues at hand (learning) must be a part of the process. While SD presents us with many wonderful tools, i have found that they are most useful while exploring the curiosity behind the issue. SD frustrates business executives and teachers alike because it is most useful in exploring dynamic curiosity and less useful in developing an immediate solution.

Warren
WPI SD Masters candidate
CEO Refrigeration Sales Corp

Follow Ups:

Standards in Math - Alex Leus 12/4/2010 
Standards in Math - Pedro D. Almaguer Prado 12/4/2010