tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5303307482158922565.post6430646863453021612..comments2024-03-22T13:39:55.941-07:00Comments on Math Mama Writes...: What does it mean when we feel we "understand" something?Sue VanHattumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10237941346154683902noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5303307482158922565.post-7141839923096439322022-09-20T17:39:31.875-07:002022-09-20T17:39:31.875-07:00Thanks for commenting, Michelle. I've been inu...Thanks for commenting, Michelle. I've been inundated by spam comments lately, so it's really nice to get a real one!<br /><br />What grade level are you working with?<br />Sue VanHattumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10237941346154683902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5303307482158922565.post-62570829123988347002022-09-20T17:28:48.114-07:002022-09-20T17:28:48.114-07:00I push on my students to explain the "why&quo...I push on my students to explain the "why" whenever we work with an algorithm. With their help, I will often color code multiple algorithms showing the same problem. Once they see where the numbers are coming from, we push harder to explain why each algorithm works. Some, like the area model Sue showed, are very concrete. Usually when we do the traditional U.S. algorithm (the one on Sue's right) they explain that the zero shows that we are now multiplying 5 tens, not 5 ones so the product doesn't have any ones, it is 295 tens. Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09921244970889478836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5303307482158922565.post-4913405888267327382022-09-10T14:00:04.169-07:002022-09-10T14:00:04.169-07:00As you said, one thing Beast Academy is trying to ...As you said, one thing Beast Academy is trying to do is to give students a way to do math in their heads. And even more, they want to lay a foundation for students to understand the formula for factoring the difference of two squares.<br /><br />For parents, it's so hard to break out of the mindset we picked up in school. We learned that math is about getting answers quickly and efficiently and with as little thought as possible. If you're really good at math, you just look at the problem and know the answer right away, as if by magic.<br /><br />We weren't taught that not-knowing is perfectly fine, and that the struggle of figuring out how and why something works will pay dividends for years of future learning.Denise Gaskinshttps://denisegaskins.com/noreply@blogger.com