Here's part of a conversation I heard in the hallways of LD3C yesterday. It made me smile with the students rather than laugh at them, maybe because they were young and animated and I watched them hold a door for someone else.
Student 1: "Six times eight is, like, 48."
Student 2: "Are you sure?"
Student 1: "Yeah, dude, pretty sure."
I also want to mention that the student who did the math did not at all sound pretty sure in his response to his friend, and the tone of his voice was, like, endearing.
O. M. G!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI hope these weren't engineering majors.
I can sympathize with the student. I mis-memorized the times tables in the third grade. My reflexive product of 9 and 6 is 36. I have to will myself to do the computation in my head to compute the 54. This has cost me a few points on exams over the years when i fail to catch my error.
ReplyDeleteSure, it's 3rd grade math but third grade was, like, so long ago. And it got boring after the second time he took it.
ReplyDeleteYes, but learning multiplication tables is rote memorization. As I was once told by an education major, memorization is not a "valid form of pedagogy."
ReplyDelete"As I was once told by an education major, memorization is not a "valid form of pedagogy.""
ReplyDeleteIt's the fastest way to learn how to "read" ideograms besides drawing them out like Japanese grade schoolers.
Sadly, this is a conversation I have with myself any time I have to make copies and figure out how many I need. And the voice in my head sounds about as sure as like the guy answering the question. :o)
ReplyDelete@Strelly, yeah, this kid's comments would probably come as news to medical schools as well.
ReplyDeleteI recently confiscated a calculator from my 4th grade son who was using it to do - his times tables.
ReplyDeleteAfter an evening of practice, he came to me and said "Did you know it can be kinda fun to work through a problem and get the answer?"
Warmed my heart!
Memorization might not be valid pedagogy but it's a good way to remember stuff.
ReplyDelete@Strel & Surly,
ReplyDeletehe or she is now probably teaching dentistry...
http://www.theonion.com/articles/montessori-school-of-dentistry-lets-students-disco,2854/
Beaker Ben: that is just a great quote!
ReplyDeleteMemorization is frequently misunderestimated. There was a study done a year or two ago comparing students who had read and discussed a text with those who had simply memorized it by heart. The latter were later better able to do things with the text - answer questions about it, think critically about it, etc. At least that is what I remember from the blurb I saw about it. This might have been it.
ReplyDelete