sleeper2345 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@asianloverexpress Sorry that I've corrected your incorrect thinking. I work with college students everyday who don't feel comfortable with arithmetic and no longer trust their own reasoning because they've been drilled repeatedly with traditional algorithms. Will more of this lead to different results? Your strategy is to teach students that they should accept rules without reasons, then reason with them. Good luck with that. That you for patronizing me in previous posts. I do appreciate it.

asianloverexpress (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@sleeper2345 You know sleeper I love how I can compliment you on your opinion and all you can do is bash me. You are no better than the other people watching this video. I think a child that thinks 4-10 is the same a s 10-4 needs to do it and contemplate on why it doesn't work. And seeing that you work with 5th graders I now see what type of educator you are you teach children whatever you want because I see 18 to 21 year olds everyday that don't know arithmetic because we cant leave it be

T0B0KKE (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

I see the idea of those who create the "Cluster problems" way to make the calculations. It stimulates a more abstract way of thinking, in my opinion. I as a 22 year old wasn't taught with this method. I learned the "standard way" and I eventually learn myself how to divide a problem into sub-problems later on my student life.At least where I live, the main problem I'm concerned is how content are taught to students, rather weather you teach with X or Y algorithm.

Shakespeare1612 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

"Reasoning through" math problems? Impossible. Not only are you asking every student to be Galileo, or a Euclid, or a Descarte, but you're asking them to do it in a few days or a week. Here Johny, instead of sharing with you our rich legacy of logic and thinking skills that have been hard won over CENTURIES. I'm going to withhold it from you and ask you to guess. Good luck.

sleeper2345 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@asianloverexpress I'd love to see your list of things that students just need to memorize without understanding (aka "take for granted". However, we do expect them to explain why multiplication and addition are commutative. Research has shown that students can and do provide reasoned arguments for commutativity and if they don't they often assume that division and subtraction are commutative. I've worked with many 5th grade students who think that 4-10 is the same as 10 - 4.

asianloverexpress (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@sleeper2345 Well truthfully as soon as someone opinion gains some momentum then you know somebody is going to get upset. And there are certain things that kids need to take for granted, we don't make them check to make sure the field they are working in is commutative, or that they know the fundamental theorem of algebra while learning to factor polynomials, but either way I am glad you have an opinion and I hope you put your ideas into motion.

sleeper2345 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@asianloverexpress The only difference between your opinion and mine is that mine has some basis in research and student learning. We know that students have difficulty learning mindless rules and that learning rules with little understanding hurts retention. However, as long as the discussion is "just a matter of opinion" nothing will change. I'm surprised we're still not treating patients with voodoo in the US as we tend to believe everything is a matter of opinion.

asianloverexpress (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@sleeper2345 You know Sleeper I am glad that you at least have an opinion on this unlike some people that probably just watch youtube videos because they have no other life. I respectfully disagree and feel that if students can learn anyway possible and just be proficient in their arithmetic I am happy. Once again your views are not wrong just I learned the traditional way and felt it to be not a bad method. But who knows what kids need today if its this and it works then I am perfectly happy

sleeper2345 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@asianloverexpress If the student cannot understand the partial products algorithm, there is no way he/she can make sense of the traditional US multiplication algorithm. Thus, little will be retained. If the student learns an algorithm without the underlying understanding, I fail to see the difference between this and using a calculator (except the calculator will more often generate correct results).

asianloverexpress (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@sleeper2345 I understand that you advocate this partial products method and even though it may have underlying meaning in polynomials and may introduce many new ideas such as distribution it still needs to be seen that will kids grasp all of this within the short time the teacher goes over it, no.