The Answer Sheet: math


Posted at 12:17 PM ET, 03/27/2013

Why is math so hard for so many?
By Valerie Strauss
If you are someone who has long struggled with math, read on to find out why that might be the case.

By Valerie Strauss  |  12:17 PM ET, 03/27/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  'A Cultural Contrivance', Innumeracy Like Dyslexia?, Math, Math Education

Posted at 05:15 PM ET, 03/14/2013

A pi refresher on Pi Day
By Valerie Strauss
March 14, you may be surprised to learn, is Pi Day. What's that? It's 3-14, which is pretty close to 3.14, pi.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:15 PM ET, 03/14/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Albert Einstein, Celebrating Einstein's Birthday Too, Math

Posted at 05:55 PM ET, 11/23/2012

SAT Problem of the Day' gives wrong answer
By Valerie Strauss
The College Board's SAT "Problem of the Day" is supposed to be helpful -- but that's hard when it cites the wrong answer.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:55 PM ET, 11/23/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Bad Math?, SAT; SAT math problems

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/14/2011

Math class: What’s the right order?
By Valerie Strauss
In what order should students take math? Should Geometry come before or after Algebra II? Here are some of the ways schools around the country are experimenting.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/14/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Math | Tags:  STEM, algebra 1, algebra 2, algebra II, calculus, geometry, high school, high school math, math classes, order of math class, pre-caculus

Posted at 11:55 AM ET, 11/13/2010

Teacher: Data, my new dirty word
By Valerie Strauss
A teacher explains how an obsession with data has led to the redefinition of teaching and learning: "Teaching itself has become redefined as generating, collecting, and using data, and learning has become redefined as the curve connecting data points. This is a fundamental shift in how educators think, talk, and go about educating our children. Unfortunately, it is not a shift that serves anyone but the data-collectors very well."

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:55 AM ET, 11/13/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  data, education, educational data, mad math minutes, mad minutes, nclb, no child left behind, school reform, schools, teachers, teaching and learning, test data

Posted at 05:00 PM ET, 11/05/2010

Montgomery County admits kids were pushed too hard in math
By Valerie Strauss
The highly regarded Montgomery County Public Schools now admits that it has been pushing too many kids into accelerated math when they weren't ready and will stop it. A lot of parents are going to lose bragging rights at cocktail parties.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 PM ET, 11/05/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Montgomery County Public Schools, Montgomery County Public Schools, Montgomery County Public Schools | Tags:  accelerated math, common core standards, math, math programs, moco, moco schools, montgomery county public schools, montgomery county schools

Posted at 11:49 AM ET, 10/26/2010

In STEM era, humanities get new attention
By Valerie Strauss
Given all the attention STEM-related subjects get, you could be forgiven for thinking that math, science, technology and engineering are the only things college students can take. In this STEM era, the humanities are getting new attention at colleges and universities.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:49 AM ET, 10/26/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Curriculum, Curriculum | Tags:  STEM, brandeis university, engineering degrees, humanities, iran, mandel center, math education, new york times editorial, president obama, science fair, social sciences, south korea, stem education, the humanities, university of connecticut, university of pittsburgh, white house

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 07/07/2010

Learning math with Sherlock Holmes
By Valerie Strauss
Teacher Sharon Jacoby’s students are having so much fun learning math in summer school that it makes you wonder why teachers can’t do this from September through June.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 07/07/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Math, Math | Tags:  interesting courses, learning math, math and sherlock holmes, summer school, summer school classes, thinking like sherlock holmes

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 11/16/2009

Willingham: We have math standards, but now what?
By Valerie Strauss
We’ve got good standards . . . now what? . . .Students need conceptual knowledge. They need to understand why the procedures work, e.g., why “invert and multiply” yields the right answer when dividing fractions. Without conceptual knowledge, it is difficult to solve novel problems. The student can recognize that certain procedures apply to certain problem types, but if a problem is dressed up in a slightly different format, the student likely will be stumped. American students generally have adequate (not terrific) factual and procedural knowledge. Their conceptual knowledge is, on average, terrible.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 11/16/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  Dan Willingham, math

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 11/05/2009

Guernsey: If bedtime is book time, let's make morning time for math
By Valerie Strauss
By Lisa Guernsey< Bedtime = book time. Parents know that equation by heart, or at least they’re supposed to. The drill goes like this: Just before the goodnight kiss, we snuggle up with our young kids, open a book, and read with them. Okay, so maybe at first we have to beg them to just settle down. And maybe the baby is more prone to eat the pages than look at them. But still, we try. We’re the ones responsible for these little human beings. It’s part of our job. Mathematics, on the other hand, that’s not on the must-do list. Reading may be part of the raising-kids routine. Math – not so much. But maybe it should be.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 11/05/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Early Childhood, Early Childhood, Early Childhood | Tags:  early childhood, math

Posted at 04:51 PM ET, 09/18/2009

6 Things I Learned This Week
By Valerie Strauss
1) Most U.S. workers with advanced math skills never actually have to put them to work in their jobs. American University Economics Professor Robert Lerman told this to a panel at the Washington D.C.-based Urban Institute this week during a discussion of whether everyone should go to college.

By Valerie Strauss  |  04:51 PM ET, 09/18/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  AARP, Bruce Springsteen, Dartmouth College, University of Richmond, frogs, math, puncutation