Teaching Math Before

Technology

Presented by:

Niobrara High School Math Teacher-- Robert S. Rail

THE AGENDA

1. Tools vs Crutches

2. 3 Rules of Math

3. When a Tool Becomes a Crutch

4. Tools for Math Students

5. Where From Here?

Tools Versus Crutches

Technology:A Tool or a Crutch?

Tools –– Make A Task Easier

– Increase Productivity

– Add Efficiency to a Task

Crutches –– Compensate for an

Impairment

– Awkward to Use, Even with Practice

– Decrease Productivity and Efficiency

When We Hand a Student a Calculator Before He / She Knows How to Calculate, Did We Give Them a Tool or a Crutch?????

FIRST 3 RULES OF MATHEMATICS

1. Simplify …

…the Problem

2. Simplify …

…the Process

3. Simplify …

…the Answer

Simplify the Problem

Determine Which Answer Is Wanted Determine Which Information is Relevant Discard the Rest

Kansas City, MO is 187 miles south of Omaha, NE. If I leave at 10:00 AM and travel 60 MPH, will I be in time to see a 3:00 PM show at the Crown Center?

Simplify the Process

1. Grouping Symbols

2. Exponents and radicals

3. Multiplication

4. Division

5. Addition

6. Subtraction

As it occurs from left to right

As it occurs from left to right

Simplify the Process

Great Explanations Make Doing Algebra Simple

60 * [15:00 (3:00 PM) – 10:00 ] > 187 (Y or N)

Simplify the Answer

Combine Like Terms Reduce Fractions Put Radicals in the Numerator Convert:

– Negative Exponents in Numerator to Positive Exponents in the Denominator

– Negative Exponents in Denominator to Positive Exponents in the Numerator

And the Answer is:

Simplify the Answer

Barring a Traffic Jam

YES!

When A Tool Becomes A Crutch

Mental Math Versus the Calculator Why Do We Defend Students Who:

– Can’t / Won’t Do Basic Table Math?– Insist on a Tool When Their Brain is Better?

Why Are There Pictures on Cash Registers?

(Okay, Not a Math Teaching Issue, but I Still Wonder)

Tools for Math Students

Brain Fingers & Toes Arithmetic Tables Pencil, Paper, Compass, Protractor Books (Reading is a BIG Plus in Math) Practice Slide Rule Calculators, Cell Phones, iPads, PCs

Where from Here?

Teach and Apply the Basics Assess Them to Until They Drop No Calculators Before Irrational Numbers

I Cannot Say in my Heart That Technology Does Not Belong in any Classroom; I Can Safely Ascertain That Students Who Can’t (or Won’t) do Simple Math Without a Computational Device Are Hurting Their Chances to Competently Apply the Math in the World Around Them. Pick Any Discipline – Math is Required Even When Technology is Not.

Questions? Queries? Posers?