Re: education, technology & chat (The Mathematics of it)

["Peg Griffin" <Peg.Griffin@worldnet.att.net>]

Thanks.  I get the feeling that Nancy and I have ideas about precursors, and
promoting, and learning leading development (for me the question is "good
grief where did it lead now?") that promise a good line of discussion as
time goes on.
Peg

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Barowy" <xmcageek@comcast.net>
To: <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2004 9:32 AM
Subject: Re: education, technology & chat (The Mathematics of it)


> Excellent questions Peg, and they are influencing our inquiry.  Thank you.
>
>
> > quadrilaterals: Does it come up that squares are rectangles, that the
sort
> > of things that make a rectangle different from, say, a rhombus is of a
> > different order than the difference between squares and other
rectangles?
>
> Yes, squares being rectanges are talked about, but orders of difference
are
> not.
>
> > The second thing was about the "big, small" and "big, skinny":  Are
those
> > treated in the talk more like, say, color (and not mathematized) than
they
> > are like, say, side or point?
>
> At this early introduction to shapes, i would dare interpret that Jane is
> interested in promoting thinking in complexes and that  thinking
> scientifically/mathematizing, in sucha signficant way as you indicate, is
a
> ways off.  This is to be expected.  We're looking at 6-7 year olds, and,
in a
> piagetian sense, these children are just entering concrete operations.
One
> does not see consistent perfomance of conservation, or the ability to hold
> two things in mind at the same time.
>
> > I'm guessing that the so-called correlations to the NCTM standards that
> > they say are provided by Scott Foresman would have the most information
> > about what mathematics learning/development ideas motivate the lesson
> > content; is that so?
>
> No. I've worked at TERC developing curriculum but not with the
investigations
> group.  I think to honestly answer your question one would want to do CHAT
> historical analysis of TERC's investigations team together with the NCTM
> organization, and the schools that TERC pilots and field tests their
content.
> The good answer is a book, perhaps a career.  In a nutshell I think what
> motivates the lesson content is distributed all over.
>
>
> -- 
> --------
> bb
>
>