im not trying to make errors and have a thread about my errors, I was looking for direction and insight about the education system telling us to memorize a procedure instead of understand mathematics in all its flexibility
but no chance in that now since I forgot a decimal point
and thanks fauch ill probably never forget a decimal again
another example
this makes more sense to use sometimes if you ask me but I am not talking routines anyways, I am talking about comprehension
whatever the case, I have had to refresh how to deal with (for instance) fractions several times in the past 20 years. Because I was trying to memorize the teachers routine. By recent comprehension however I did not have to double check their method in order to do anything with fractions.
Memorization of one method versus tangible comprehension
Formulaic dependance versus fluency and understanding
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DagothGares
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posted November 18, 2013 11:59 AM
-17 = -20+3
SO 64-17 =64-20+3= 47
This is pretty basic stuff. It's a bit of a crutch, but I don't get how anyone would happily take a realy long time over doing simple addition, substraction and multiplication over substituting everything with simpler elements.
85/5 = 85/10*2 = 8,5*2 = 17
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You're right daggoth those are under common sense.
There are more ways to do math than the strict procedures I learned in school. That's really what I am trying to point out. What I am trying to point out is obviously obscured by using + - x and / problems.
It's embarrassing to think people reading this are only looking at that aspect. All I am trying to say is the specific operations I was forced to memorize over and over were limiting.
Anyways I am going back to school and will retake the APT test which is basically math placement. Degrees having various math requirements I could potentially jump right into specific classes instead of having to take more prerequisites - some of which I have already passed and forgotten a few times since I didn't comprehend it and followed instructions to memorize it. Naturally I am trying to brush up my skills from terminology to procedures. I am more comfortable comprehending these things instead of memorizing the way schools taught me to do it.
Not everyone retains information the same way, and part of my main point is the educational system approach is memorize practice practice practice memorize, which is flawed when there is a very flexible way they aren't telling us. I don't mean with subtraction/division problems I am talking about the whole thing.
Comprehension > Memorization
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I agree with this. Math is much easier, and more interesting, when you understand what really happends behind the scene But from my experience, the techniques I learned in school prooved to be the fastest ones, most of the time. But I also remember that we were not discouraged to find different ways to solve a problem (though this may have been specific for my teacher).
posted November 17, 2013 03:35 AM
