Raul, The balance between abstract and concrete is a difficult one, especially when the abstract part is a little new or different. What I like about most of the CC videos is the emphasis on encouraging the students to express their correct and incorrect thoughts and on minimizing the need for getting correct answers.
There is no arguing going on in this context. I am just looking for ways to appreciate a new way for looking at early math. Getting the wording is difficult for me, so I appreciate your comment in that regard. These kids are so trusting. There is almost never a need to yell, altho today the teacher yelled for the first time at a boy who was plugging some device into an electric socket. That scared her, I think. Thanks, On Wed, Jan 14, 2015 at 12:02 PM, Raul Miller <[email protected]> wrote: > One key concept that might be useful in this kind of discussion is > "diversity". Others might be "innovation", "ability" and "loophole". > (That last being a hint that a close reading of the underlying > standards will show a variety of mechanisms aimed at allowing exactly > the sort of presentation you are reaching towards. And also that the > loudest voices will usually harp on the most ambiguous bits of > phrasing.) > > But honestly, the primary skill which I think would be most useful in > this kind of context is the skill of changing the subject. > > Arguing about abstractions is futile when each person is reasoning > about different underlying experiences. So it's probably best to (a) > keep a written list of priorities, so you do not get too lost, and (b) > go into the discussion with the aim of listening and finding out about > the person's relevant experiences. Once you understand their point, > your natural hesitance and thoughtfulness will tend to shine through. > > Something similar goes on with your students. They are going to need > concrete things to hang your concepts onto. And the point of the "fact > families" is that they are "worked examples" of concreteness. > > There's nothing forbidding presentation of abstractions and tools, but > you can't do only that any more than you can only present concrete > examples. And, frankly, textbook examples tend to get boring - you > should also reach for real world examples. > > Ultimately, the learning has to happen in the minds of your students - > it's not something you can do for them. But what you can do is try and > tie core concepts to examples that they have some interest in. > > But a risk here is that quite likely you'll run into cultural issues - > getting the wording slightly wrong is sometimes enough to be > embarrassing - which might need to be defused with humor or other > mechanisms to balance things out. > > Or, you know, you could yell at them. I hear that that always works - > or at least is sometimes not fatal. > > Thanks, > > -- > Raul > > -- (B=) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
