[Technology 1111] Re: FW: Kentucky MathSusan Jones SUJones at parkland.eduMon Jun 25 12:47:51 EDT 2007
If they had the 25 cents and were holding it, they'd be more likely to "get" that it was a nickel apiece because they would have to get the change to split it up. It has finally ceased to amaze me when explanations of math end up being further manipulation of symbols - often in the language the confused person doesn't understand. I'd have whipped out twenty five pennies from the bottom of my purse and said "split 'em up into five groups." Of course, that wasn't the point of the comedy :=) Now, another question is: how many people could explain what was mathematically wrong with their procedure and explain it without saying "because that isn't how you do it" ? The people who could would be more likely to be able to deal with a different culture's methods. Susan Jones Academic Development Specialist Academic Development Center Parkland College Champaign, IL 61821 sujones at parkland.edu Webmastress, http://www.resourceroom.net http://bicyclecu.blogspot.com >>> <nancy.friday at alphaplus.ca> 6/15/2007 1:25 PM >>> Hi, This video has circulated in Canada as well, because I have seen it before. Interesting, I can't recall if when I received it if had the Kentucky label attached. If it had, I would have ignored that part and just focused on the video. I love the creativity in the solutions (even though they aren't correct). I like the fact that the man and woman are confident in the face of the man in the suit to stand up and assert their perspective and apply the knowledge that they have (because they do know adding and multiplying). I really like the fact that the couple reject the system and do things their own way. My hope would be from a learning perspective that the couple would be open to seeing that their reasoning isn't correct. If they were holding the 25 cents and had to divide it, they might re-think their reasoning. Which makes me this as perhaps a power issue - who holds the money? This clip also make me think about an experience I had when I worked front line in a community-based literacy program here in Toronto and was engaged in training new literacy volunteer tutors. We were showing some ways to approach math - particularly long division. Normally in tutor training we would go into the details of long division, but we had a cultural point to make. Many students and volunteers in our program had come to Canada from a range of Caribbean countries. Tutors who went through the Canadian school system learned long division just one way and taught it that way. Tutors and students from the Caribbean, I believe an example came from Guyana, learned long division another way. When the Guyanese way was demonstrated, the Canadian-born tutors were clearly shocked. The point was to take cues from the students in terms of observing how they approach tasks, be aware and respectful of cultures not your own, and be open to learning in new ways. Neither way of approaching long division was wrong - both came to the correct answer - but forcing someone to learn a way that doesn't come from their experience or previous knowledge, can be counter productive. I know that's not the case in this video - but the clip did take me back to that long division place. Nancy "Burkett, Barry" <Barry.Burkett at Franklin.kyschools.us> on 06/15/2007 09:33:33 AM Please respond to The Technology and Literacy Discussion List <technology at nifl.gov> To: "The Technology and Literacy Discussion List" <technology at nifl.gov>, "The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy Discussion List" <povertyracewomen at nifl.gov> cc: (bcc: Nancy Friday) Subject: [Technology 1065] FW: Kentucky Math Hey guys, I know we focus on literacy, but recently I have been putting time into researching numeracy as well. A student forwarded me this clip, it is from a B&W television show, but I do not know its name. 2 things to focus on, first the creative way to solve the problem and second the comments that came along with the e-mail. On another path, the self-deprecating way these Kentuckians pass the video around because it is funny, even though the tag is intentionally labeled to degrade us, and give those outside of Kentucky a negative view of Kentuckians... why do we intentionally set ourselves up to be labeled ignorant? And one more thing to notice, how dissimilar are the "incorrect" mathemateers from our ABE students? In my experience it seems that it is not that the majority of students do not know how to apply information they know, it is that apply it incorrectly... early misconceptions in both math and reading become amplified and detrimental to the adult as they move through life. Your thoughts? Barry Burkett, Adult Educator Thorn Hill Learning Center Frankfort, KY 502.223.3110 "Computers are incredibly fast, accurate and stupid; humans are incredibly slow, inaccurate and brilliant; together they are powerful beyond imagination" - Albert Einstein "While adult education should be viewed as a right, not as a stigmatized second-chance program for those who have failed or dropped from out school stystems, at the present time lifelong learning is only being given lip service" (Askov, 2000, p. 259) ________________________________ From: sammdean40 at aol.com [mailto:sammdean40 at aol.com] Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2007 1:46 PM To: SDBROWN412 at aol.com; redneckgirl060 at yahoo.com; mooremn774 at aol.com; janglin216 at yahoo.com; brock1050 at hotmail.com; deseree.thompson at ky.gov; Burkett, Barry; shoppergirl at myway.com; vsw74 at yahoo.com Subject: Fwd: Kentucky Math -----Original Message----- From: GINA MARIE To: suzanne ; pam bardis ; sammdean40 at aol.com Sent: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 1:13 pm Subject: Fwd: FW: Kentucky Math Ha Ha that's the way to count it huh? 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Attached Message From: Linville, Janice M (EPSB) To: Collins, Amber (KYTC) ; cntrygyrl20 at aol.com; littlegurl1994 at aol.com; Sparks, Betty (KYTC) ; Krider, Bill E (DJJ) ; Butler, Bobbie (AGR) ; cocoasugar07 at bored.com; Graham, Carla (EPSB) ; Carla.Rice at education.ky.gov; Ritchey, Cecilia ; cinperry73 at yahoo.com; Meriwether, Connie S (KSP) ; parker_cl at bellsouth.net; mttgvt at bellsouth.net; dwaits at fewpb.net; eddie.davis at kysu.edu; ggmarie66 at yahoo.com; Lathrem, Jennifer C (OET-FK) ; lil_sister_dynamite at yahoo.com; Williams, Latasha (CHFS/DDS/LVSL) ; nplgirl at bellsouth.net; mpayne at kheaa.com; ypatann at yahoo.com; Cornett, Rhonda (KYTC) ; Lover Boy ; Sandy Kiser ; sannlinville at yahoo.com; Byrns, Scott (KYTC) ; Shelby Keith ; Salchli, Sherrie (CHFS OIG Fraud) ; frogie6 at aol.com; tammylee16 at hotmail.com Subject: FW: Kentucky Math Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 13:00:01 -0400 This is too funny! I know two kids that would try to pull this off at school. ________________________________ AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com <http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000437> .
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