Math class needs a makeover | Dan Meyer | TEDxNYED
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0:04 - 0:07Can I ask you to please recall a time
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0:07 - 0:09when you really loved something -
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0:09 - 0:11a movie, an album, a song or a book -
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0:11 - 0:14and you recommended it wholeheartedly
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0:14 - 0:16to someone you also really liked,
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0:16 - 0:19and you anticipated
that reaction, you waited for it, -
0:19 - 0:21and it came back, and the person hated it?
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0:21 - 0:23So, by way of introduction,
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0:23 - 0:25that is the exact same state
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0:25 - 0:29in which I spent every working day
of the last six years. (Laughter) -
0:29 - 0:30I teach high school math.
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0:30 - 0:33I sell a product to a market
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0:33 - 0:36that doesn't want it,
but is forced by law to buy it. -
0:36 - 0:39I mean, it's just a losing proposition.
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0:39 - 0:42So there's a useful stereotype
about students that I see, -
0:42 - 0:44a useful stereotype about you all.
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0:44 - 0:46I could give you guys
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0:46 - 0:48an algebra-two final exam,
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0:48 - 0:50and I would expect no higher
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0:50 - 0:52than a 25 percent pass rate.
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0:52 - 0:56And both of these facts say
less about you or my students -
0:56 - 0:58than they do about what we call
math education -
0:58 - 1:00in the U.S. today.
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1:00 - 1:04So, I'd like to talk about some problems
that we're having with this. -
1:04 - 1:07To start with, I'd like to break
math down into two categories. -
1:07 - 1:10One is computation;
this is the stuff you've forgotten. -
1:10 - 1:12For example, factoring quadratics
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1:12 - 1:14with leading coefficients
greater than one. -
1:14 - 1:16This stuff is also really easy to relearn,
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1:16 - 1:19provided you have
a really strong grounding in reasoning. -
1:19 - 1:20Math reasoning -
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1:20 - 1:22we'll call it the application
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1:22 - 1:24of math processes
to the world around us - -
1:24 - 1:26this is hard to teach.
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1:26 - 1:28This is what we would love
students to retain, -
1:28 - 1:30even if they don't go
into mathematical fields. -
1:31 - 1:34This is also something that,
the way we teach it in the U.S. -
1:34 - 1:36all but ensures they won't retain it.
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1:36 - 1:37So, I'd like to talk about why that is,
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1:37 - 1:40why that's such a calamity
for society, what we can do about it -
1:40 - 1:43and, to close with,
why this is an amazing time -
1:43 - 1:44to be a math teacher.
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1:44 - 1:46So first, five symptoms
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1:47 - 1:49that you're doing math reasoning wrong
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1:49 - 1:50in your classroom.
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1:50 - 1:53One is a lack of initiative;
your students don't self-start. -
1:53 - 1:55You finish your lecture block
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1:55 - 1:57and immediately you have
five hands going up -
1:57 - 2:00asking you to re-explain
the entire thing at their desks. -
2:00 - 2:01Students lack perseverance.
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2:01 - 2:03They lack retention; you find yourself
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2:03 - 2:05re-explaining concepts
three months later, wholesale. -
2:05 - 2:07There's an aversion to word problems,
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2:07 - 2:09which describes 99 percent of my students.
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2:10 - 2:11And then the other one percent
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2:11 - 2:13is eagerly looking for the formula
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2:13 - 2:15to apply in that situation.
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2:16 - 2:18This is really destructive.
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2:19 - 2:22David Milch, creator of "Deadwood"
and other amazing TV shows, -
2:23 - 2:25has a really good description for this.
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2:25 - 2:27He swore off creating
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2:27 - 2:29contemporary drama,
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2:29 - 2:31shows set in the present day,
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2:31 - 2:33because he saw
that when people fill their mind -
2:33 - 2:37with four hours a day of, for example,
"Two and a Half Men," no disrespect, -
2:37 - 2:40it shapes the neural pathways, he said,
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2:40 - 2:43in such a way that they expect
simple problems. -
2:43 - 2:46He called it, "an impatience
with irresolution." -
2:46 - 2:49You're impatient with things
that don't resolve quickly. -
2:49 - 2:53You expect sitcom-sized problems
that wrap up in 22 minutes, -
2:53 - 2:56three commercial breaks and a laugh track.
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2:56 - 2:58And I'll put it to all of you,
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2:58 - 3:02what you already know, that no problem
worth solving is that simple. -
3:02 - 3:03I am very concerned about this
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3:03 - 3:07because I'm going to retire
in a world that my students will run. -
3:07 - 3:09I'm doing bad things
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3:09 - 3:11to my own future and well-being
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3:11 - 3:13when I teach this way.
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3:13 - 3:16I'm here to tell you that the way
our textbooks - -
3:16 - 3:20particularly mass-adopted textbooks -
teach math reasoning -
3:20 - 3:22and patient problem solving,
-
3:22 - 3:24it's functionally equivalent
to turning on -
3:24 - 3:26"Two and a Half Men"
and calling it a day. -
3:26 - 3:27(Laughter)
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3:27 - 3:29In all seriousness.
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3:29 - 3:31Here's an example
from a physics textbook. -
3:31 - 3:32It applies equally to math.
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3:32 - 3:34Notice, first of all here,
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3:34 - 3:37that you have exactly three pieces
of information there, -
3:37 - 3:39each of which will figure into a formula
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3:39 - 3:41somewhere, eventually,
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3:41 - 3:43which the student will then compute.
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3:44 - 3:48This conditions students to expect this,
I believe, in real life. -
3:48 - 3:50And ask yourself, what problem
have you solved, ever, -
3:50 - 3:51that was worth solving
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3:51 - 3:54where you knew
all of the given information in advance; -
3:54 - 3:56where you didn't have
a surplus of information -
3:56 - 3:58and you had to filter it out,
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3:58 - 4:00or you didn't have
insufficient information -
4:00 - 4:01and had to go find some.
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4:01 - 4:04I'm sure we all agree that
no problem worth solving is like that. -
4:04 - 4:07And the textbook, I think,
knows how it's hamstringing students -
4:07 - 4:10because, watch this,
this is the practice problem set. -
4:10 - 4:12When it comes time
to the actual problem set, -
4:12 - 4:14we have problems like this right here
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4:14 - 4:18where we're just swapping out numbers
and tweaking the context a little bit. -
4:18 - 4:21And if the student still doesn't recognize
the stamp this was molded from, -
4:21 - 4:23it helpfully explains to you
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4:23 - 4:27what sample problem you can return to
to find the formula. -
4:27 - 4:29You could literally, I mean this,
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4:29 - 4:32pass this particular unit
without knowing any physics, -
4:32 - 4:34just knowing how to decode a textbook.
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4:34 - 4:35That's a shame.
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4:35 - 4:38So I can diagnose the problem
a little more specifically in math. -
4:38 - 4:40Here's a really cool problem. I like this.
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4:40 - 4:43It's about defining steepness and slope
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4:43 - 4:44using a ski lift.
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4:45 - 4:47But what you have here is actually
four separate layers, -
4:47 - 4:50and I'm curious which of you can see
the four separate layers -
4:50 - 4:53and, particularly, how when
they're compressed together -
4:53 - 4:55and presented to the student all at once,
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4:55 - 4:58how that creates this
impatient problem solving. -
4:58 - 5:00I'll define them here:
You have the visual. -
5:00 - 5:02You also have the mathematical structure,
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5:02 - 5:05talking about grids, measurements, labels,
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5:05 - 5:07points, axes, that sort of thing.
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5:07 - 5:10You have substeps, which all lead
to what we really want to talk about: -
5:10 - 5:12which section is the steepest.
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5:13 - 5:14So I hope you can see.
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5:14 - 5:16I really hope you can see
how what we're doing here -
5:16 - 5:19is taking a compelling
question, a compelling answer, -
5:19 - 5:21but we're paving a smooth, straight path
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5:21 - 5:22from one to the other
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5:22 - 5:24and congratulating
our students for how well -
5:24 - 5:26they can step over the small cracks
in the way. -
5:26 - 5:28That's all we're doing here.
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5:28 - 5:32So I want to put to you that if we can
separate these in a different way -
5:32 - 5:33and build them up with students,
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5:33 - 5:37we can have everything we're looking for
in terms of patient problem solving. -
5:37 - 5:39So right here I start with the visual,
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5:39 - 5:41and I immediately ask the question:
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5:41 - 5:42Which section is the steepest?
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5:42 - 5:44And this starts conversation
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5:44 - 5:47because the visual is created in such
a way where you can defend two answers. -
5:47 - 5:50So you get people arguing
against each other, -
5:50 - 5:51friend versus friend,
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5:51 - 5:52in pairs, journaling, whatever.
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5:52 - 5:54And then eventually we realize
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5:54 - 5:56it's getting annoying to talk about
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5:56 - 5:58the skier in the lower
left-hand side of the screen -
5:58 - 6:00or the skier just above the mid line.
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6:00 - 6:02And we realize how great would it be
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6:02 - 6:04if we just had some A, B, C and D labels
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6:04 - 6:06to talk about them more easily.
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6:06 - 6:09And then as we start to define
what does steepness mean, -
6:09 - 6:12we realize it would be nice
to have some measurements -
6:12 - 6:15to really narrow it down,
specifically what that means. -
6:15 - 6:16And then and only then,
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6:16 - 6:18we throw down that mathematical structure.
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6:19 - 6:21The math serves the conversation,
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6:21 - 6:23the conversation doesn't serve the math.
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6:24 - 6:27And at that point, I'll put it to you
that nine out of 10 classes -
6:27 - 6:29are good to go on the whole
slope, steepness thing. -
6:29 - 6:30But if you need to,
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6:30 - 6:33your students can then develop
those substeps together. -
6:33 - 6:36Do you guys see how this, right here,
compared to that - -
6:36 - 6:39which one creates that patient problem
solving, that math reasoning? -
6:39 - 6:41It's been obvious in my practice, to me.
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6:42 - 6:45And I'll yield the floor here
for a second to Einstein, -
6:45 - 6:46who, I believe, has paid his dues.
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6:46 - 6:50He talked about the formulation
of a problem being so incredibly important -
6:50 - 6:52and yet in my practice, in the U.S. here,
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6:52 - 6:54we just give problems to students;
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6:54 - 6:57we don't involve them
in the formulation of the problem. -
6:58 - 7:00So 90 percent of what I do
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7:00 - 7:03with my five hours of prep time per week
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7:03 - 7:05is to take fairly compelling elements
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7:05 - 7:07of problems like this from my textbook
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7:07 - 7:09and rebuild them in a way that supports
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7:09 - 7:11math reasoning
and patient problem solving. -
7:11 - 7:13And here's how it works.
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7:13 - 7:15I like this question.
It's about a water tank. -
7:15 - 7:18The question is: How long
will it take you to fill it up? -
7:18 - 7:20First things first,
we eliminate all the substeps. -
7:20 - 7:21Students have to develop those,
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7:21 - 7:23they have to formulate those.
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7:23 - 7:27And then notice that all the information
written on there is stuff you'll need. -
7:27 - 7:29None of it's a distractor,
so we lose that. -
7:29 - 7:30Students need to decide,
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7:30 - 7:32"All right, well, does the height matter?
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7:32 - 7:34Does the side length matter?
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7:34 - 7:36Does the color of the valve matter?
What matters here?" -
7:36 - 7:39Such an underrepresented
question in math curriculum. -
7:39 - 7:41So now we have a water tank.
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7:41 - 7:43How long will it take you to fill it up?
And that's it. -
7:43 - 7:45And because this is the 21st century
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7:45 - 7:48and we would love to talk
about the real world on its own terms, -
7:48 - 7:51not in terms of line art or clip art
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7:51 - 7:53that you so often see in textbooks,
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7:53 - 7:55we go out and we take a picture of it.
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7:55 - 7:57So now we have the real deal.
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7:57 - 7:59How long will it take it to fill it up?
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7:59 - 8:01And then even better is we take a video,
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8:01 - 8:04a video of someone filling it up.
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8:04 - 8:07And it's filling up slowly,
agonizingly slowly. -
8:07 - 8:08It's tedious.
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8:08 - 8:11Students are looking at their watches,
rolling their eyes, -
8:11 - 8:14and they're all wondering
at some point or another, -
8:14 - 8:16"Man, how long is it going to take
to fill up?" -
8:16 - 8:21(Laughter)
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8:21 - 8:24That's how you know
you've baited the hook, right? -
8:26 - 8:29And that question, off this right here,
is really fun for me -
8:29 - 8:31because, like the intro,
-
8:31 - 8:33I teach kids -
because of my inexperience - -
8:33 - 8:36I teach the kids
that are the most remedial, all right? -
8:36 - 8:39And I've got kids who will not
join a conversation about math -
8:39 - 8:41because someone else has the formula;
-
8:41 - 8:44someone else knows how to work
the formula better than me, -
8:44 - 8:46so I won't talk about it.
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8:46 - 8:49But here, every student
is on a level playing field of intuition. -
8:49 - 8:52Everyone's filled something
up with water before, -
8:52 - 8:55so I get kids answering the question,
"How long will it take?" -
8:55 - 8:58I've got kids who are mathematically
and conversationally intimidated -
8:58 - 8:59joining the conversation.
-
8:59 - 9:02We put names on the board,
attach them to guesses, -
9:02 - 9:04and kids have bought in here.
-
9:04 - 9:07And then we follow
the process I've described. -
9:07 - 9:09And the best part here,
or one of the better parts -
9:09 - 9:12is that we don't get our answer
from the answer key -
9:12 - 9:13in the back of the teacher's edition.
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9:13 - 9:16We, instead, just watch
the end of the movie. -
9:16 - 9:17(Laughter)
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9:17 - 9:19And that's terrifying,
-
9:19 - 9:21because the theoretical
models that always work out -
9:21 - 9:24in the answer key in the back
of a teacher's edition, -
9:24 - 9:25that's great,
-
9:25 - 9:27but it's scary to talk
about sources of error -
9:27 - 9:30when the theoretical does not
match up with the practical. -
9:30 - 9:32But those conversations
have been so valuable, -
9:32 - 9:33among the most valuable.
-
9:33 - 9:35So, compare all that to your textbook.
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9:37 - 9:40So I'm here to report
some really fun games -
9:40 - 9:42with students who come pre-installed
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9:42 - 9:44with these viruses day one of the class.
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9:44 - 9:47These are the kids
who now, one semester in, -
9:47 - 9:49I can put something on the board,
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9:49 - 9:50totally new, totally foreign,
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9:50 - 9:54and they'll have a conversation
about it for three or four minutes more -
9:54 - 9:56than they would have
at the start of the year, -
9:56 - 9:57which is just so fun.
-
9:57 - 9:59We're no longer averse to word problems,
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9:59 - 10:02because we've redefined
what a word problem is. -
10:02 - 10:04We're no longer intimidated by math,
-
10:04 - 10:06because we're slowly
redefining what math is. -
10:06 - 10:08This has been a lot of fun.
-
10:08 - 10:12I encourage math teachers
I talk to to use multimedia, -
10:12 - 10:15because it brings the real world
into your classroom -
10:15 - 10:17in high resolution and full color;
-
10:17 - 10:20to encourage student intuition
for that level playing field; -
10:20 - 10:22to ask the shortest question
you possibly can -
10:22 - 10:26and let those more specific questions
come out in conversation; -
10:26 - 10:28to let students build the problem,
-
10:28 - 10:30because Einstein said so;
-
10:30 - 10:33and to finally, in total,
just be less helpful, -
10:33 - 10:35because the textbook is helping you
in all the wrong ways: -
10:35 - 10:38It's buying you out of your obligation,
-
10:38 - 10:41for patient problem solving
and math reasoning, to be less helpful. -
10:41 - 10:44And why this is an amazing time
to be a math teacher right now -
10:44 - 10:46is because we have the tools to create
-
10:46 - 10:48this high-quality curriculum
in our front pocket. -
10:48 - 10:50It's ubiquitous and fairly cheap,
-
10:51 - 10:53and the tools to distribute it
-
10:53 - 10:55freely under open licenses
-
10:55 - 10:58has also never been cheaper
or more ubiquitous. -
10:58 - 11:00I put a video series
on my blog not so long ago -
11:00 - 11:03and it got 6,000 views in two weeks.
-
11:04 - 11:07I get emails still from teachers
in countries I've never visited -
11:07 - 11:10saying, "Wow, yeah.
We had a good conversation about that. -
11:10 - 11:13Oh, and by the way, here's how I made
your stuff better," -
11:13 - 11:15which, wow.
-
11:15 - 11:18I put this problem on my blog recently:
-
11:18 - 11:20In a grocery store,
which line do you get into, -
11:20 - 11:22the one that has one cart and 19 items
-
11:22 - 11:25or the line with four carts
and three, five, two and one items. -
11:25 - 11:29And the linear modeling involved in that
was some good stuff for my classroom, -
11:29 - 11:30but it eventually got me
-
11:30 - 11:33on "Good Morning America"
a few weeks later, -
11:33 - 11:34which is just bizarre, right?
-
11:34 - 11:36And from all of this, I can only conclude
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11:36 - 11:38that people, not just students,
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11:38 - 11:40are really hungry for this.
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11:40 - 11:42Math makes sense of the world.
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11:42 - 11:44Math is the vocabulary
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11:44 - 11:46for your own intuition.
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11:46 - 11:49So I just really encourage you,
whatever your stake is in education - -
11:49 - 11:52whether you're a student, parent,
teacher, policy maker, whatever - -
11:52 - 11:54insist on better math curriculum.
-
11:54 - 11:57We need more patient problem solvers.
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11:57 - 11:59Thank you. (Applause)
- Title:
- Math class needs a makeover | Dan Meyer | TEDxNYED
- Description:
-
Today's math curriculum is teaching students to expect - and excel at - paint-by-numbers classwork, robbing kids of a skill more important than solving problems: formulating them. Dan Meyer shows classroom-tested math exercises that prompt students to stop and think.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 12:09
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TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for Math class needs a makeover | Dan Meyer | TEDxNYED | ||
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for Math class needs a makeover | Dan Meyer | TEDxNYED | ||
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for Math class needs a makeover | Dan Meyer | TEDxNYED | ||
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for Math class needs a makeover | Dan Meyer | TEDxNYED | ||
TED Translators admin edited English subtitles for Math class needs a makeover | Dan Meyer | TEDxNYED |