overthere Posted June 16, 2015 Report Posted June 16, 2015 There was a forum held in Alberta recently that dealt with declining math scores in Canada. This is quite lengthy. There were 4 main speakers. I found it interesting. Alberta used to be tops in Canada in math but has seen a rapid decline. Many are asking why? I know why the decline has happened in Alberta( a province that has had universal provincial based skills testing in Grades 3,6,9 and 12 for some time now ). The declining math skills -as tested objectively by international organization PISA- was once routinely tops in Canada and near the best in the world. Neither is true now. About a decade ago, the Discovery Learning method was forced upon school boards and PISA test results declined quickly. They'd have really plummeted if not for a quiet rearguard defence of simple common sense by experienced teachers. Those are the skilled teachers that recognize that different kids flourish under different methods, and that both 'teaching by rote' and forcing the Discovery method on each child are equally ineffective. Quote Science too hard for you? Try religion!
socialist Posted June 29, 2015 Author Report Posted June 29, 2015 Supposed declining math skills is in the news again. Now are math skills actually declining, or do people not realize that the 21st century is different than the 20th century, and therefore, education is different too. Here is a recent article from the NP. http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/philip-sullivan-discovery-learning-is-failing-our-children Quote Thankful to have become a free thinker.
GostHacked Posted June 29, 2015 Report Posted June 29, 2015 Socialist : Why do you always post links that work against you? Quote
socialist Posted June 30, 2015 Author Report Posted June 30, 2015 (edited) Socialist : Why do you always post links that work against you? Gosthacked: Stay on topic. Don't worry about me. I asked a question to initiate debate. If that question is beyond you, then please refrain from composing a nonsense post. Edited June 30, 2015 by socialist Quote Thankful to have become a free thinker.
Ash74 Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 Gosthacked: Stay on topic. Don't worry about me. I asked a question to initiate debate. If that question is beyond you, then please refrain from composing a nonsense post. Still. It shows yet again that discovery learning is failing in this aspect of teaching. What will you do when it changes? If of course somebody has enough sense and courage to admit that it is not working Admit all your rants and insults were wrong? Quote “Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains.”― Winston S. Churchill There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him. –Robert Heinlein
socialist Posted July 1, 2015 Author Report Posted July 1, 2015 Still. It shows yet again that discovery learning is failing in this aspect of teaching. What will you do when it changes? If of course somebody has enough sense and courage to admit that it is not working Admit all your rants and insults were wrong? I'm starting to see the damage caused by Inquiry Based learning. Quote Thankful to have become a free thinker.
Mighty AC Posted July 1, 2015 Report Posted July 1, 2015 Education initiatives swing like a pendulum. They tend to go too far in one direction and then retreat too far in the previous. Eventually, they settle somewhere in the middle. Good teachers, with experience, augment their approach with new methods...they don't completely discard what they know. Inquiry is great and should be used in various situations. So should PBL, blended learning, flipped classrooms, etc. Though, as is almost always the case ideas get pushed too far and then a push back occurs. I am willing to bet the retreat will overstep and in 5 years time there will be an equilibrium. Quote "Our lives begin to end the day we stay silent about the things that matter." - Martin Luther King Jr"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities" - Voltaire
PrimeNumber Posted July 1, 2015 Report Posted July 1, 2015 I saw a 30 year old man today try to use Bedmas on an equation that had no brackets... It was scary.Math skills aren't declining, they already declined.... Quote “Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find your way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”― Bruce Lee
Ash74 Posted July 1, 2015 Report Posted July 1, 2015 I'm starting to see the damage caused by Inquiry Based learning. So all your rants and insults were wrong than? Are you saying knowledge is important and us neanderthal's are not quite off the mark after all. Good for you. I am impressed. Education initiatives swing like a pendulum. They tend to go too far in one direction and then retreat too far in the previous. Eventually, they settle somewhere in the middle. Good teachers, with experience, augment their approach with new methods...they don't completely discard what they know. Inquiry is great and should be used in various situations. So should PBL, blended learning, flipped classrooms, etc. Though, as is almost always the case ideas get pushed too far and then a push back occurs. I am willing to bet the retreat will overstep and in 5 years time there will be an equilibrium. This I agree with. Why it always has to be one or the other and not trying to blend the strong points of the methods so a better way could be found. Quote “Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains.”― Winston S. Churchill There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him. –Robert Heinlein
socialist Posted July 1, 2015 Author Report Posted July 1, 2015 Education initiatives swing like a pendulum. They tend to go too far in one direction and then retreat too far in the previous. Eventually, they settle somewhere in the middle. Good teachers, with experience, augment their approach with new methods...they don't completely discard what they know. Inquiry is great and should be used in various situations. So should PBL, blended learning, flipped classrooms, etc. Though, as is almost always the case ideas get pushed too far and then a push back occurs. I am willing to bet the retreat will overstep and in 5 years time there will be an equilibrium. Yes, but what I'm seeing is that those kids who have mastered the basics in math are able to progress to more difficult concepts/problems than those that don't. I've been told that is not necessary to teach long division anymore. I went along with this nonsense. It's time consuming, but I realized how important it is to be able to perform long division. I read a study that said a student's knowledge of fractions and decimals predicts long-term math success. Here is a link. http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/knowledge-of-fractions-and-long-division-predicts-long-term-math-success.html And Ash, yes, I was wrong. Happy now? Quote Thankful to have become a free thinker.
socialist Posted July 7, 2015 Author Report Posted July 7, 2015 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/old-school-or-new-math-teachers-debate-best-methods-as-canadian-scores-fall/article25224581/ Math is in the Globe again. Quote Thankful to have become a free thinker.
GostHacked Posted July 7, 2015 Report Posted July 7, 2015 Gosthacked: Stay on topic. Don't worry about me. I asked a question to initiate debate. If that question is beyond you, then please refrain from composing a nonsense post. Usually one posts stuff that backs up their argument instead of obliterating it. Quote
AngusThermopyle Posted July 8, 2015 Report Posted July 8, 2015 I'm starting to see the damage caused by Inquiry Based learning. I must say I'm impressed Socialist. A statement such as yours shows a certain depth of character, that I must admit I did not expect to see. Quote I yam what I yam - Popeye
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