Math without a computer

I have a dear friend who is not computer oriented (she said herself).

She said one time she went online to find a game to reinforce some math concept for her son but couldn't find anything she liked. Either they were too repetitive, or too difficult to figure out, or something. So she just gave up, and "did things her way".

Which, her way of teaching math is one-one-one teaching, and then she often writes problems for her son in a notebook. Upon seeing how her son solves the problem, she writes the next one. It might be going a little further in the topic, or it might be practicing a different aspect of the topic.

I sincerely admire that! It's like writing a perfectly tailored math curriculum on the spot. (I often write problems for my daughter, too, in her notebook.)
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We have computer games, card games, flashcards, textbooks, workbooks, online lessons, manipulatives - but I think the most essential part of any math curriculum is the TEACHER.

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Comments

Malcolm Kirkpatrick said…
Here's a game. Unfortunately no one but mathematicians are interested. It's played with three types of pieces.
A = {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9}
B = {(,),+,-,x,/}
C = {=}.

Take a string of symbols from A (six or more). For example 8361741
Place the "=" anywhere between the first and last digits. For example, 836=1741.
Place symbols from B into the string to make a true statement.
8+3-6=1+7-4+1 or 8x36=1+7x(41)

I conjecture that every string of more than six digits is "solvable". I have found no solutions for 737375, 737573, 757373.
2:51 PM, February 19, 2006
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