The Math They Lack

A recent article suggests that while students may begin taking math classes in kindergarten, they do not know how to apply these skills in the real world. Many are unable to read pie charts or apply their knowledge when looking at the stock market. Some suggest that straightforward problems and concepts, while useful, must be taught along with ways that will help students know when and how to use math in real life. Stephen Andrilli, professor of math and computer science at La Salle University in Pennsylvania, suggests teaching "consumer math" to help students better manage credit cards, mortgages, and other important, real-world financial concerns.

Would you change K-12 math curriculum to include more real-world elements? What would you add or subtract?

Comments

[L Santucci]

Pick up a current math textbook, almost any grade, almost any level. They are FULL of real world examples. So why is it that students can not apply these skills in the 'real world'? Maybe what we need to remember is that school is not the real world and we could never cover every 'real world' situation a student will eventually encounter in math class. We'd do better to make connections between the math students learn in school and students' personal lives. Engage them, get them to care about why rather than "what's my grade," and match expectation with ability. Students should feel slightly uncomfortable for learning to take place; lessons should not be to easy and not too difficult. As a result I think both performance, staying power, and transfer of knowledge to actual real world situations would result.

One other question we need to ask as teachers is are we teaching the 'right' skills and concepts to prepare students for the 'real world'? That question is forever debated, forever changing, and should always be in the forefront of our minds. Algebra for all? Consumer math? Calculus? Discrete mathematics? Shouldn't it depend on the individual's path? More and faster isn't necessarily the answer; maybe we're actually doing too much.

[Adrienne]

I'm in the state of Georgia, and I really like some aspects of the newly-adopted high school math curriculum for the exact reason discussed in this post: the formative learning tasks designed to be used in the classroom FOLLOWED by and INFUSED with direct instruction of skills as needed are authentic (sometimes a little contrived, but woven well), leading to (I think) more vibrant and flexible math conversation in my class.

That being said, the number of standards covered in Math 1, freshman year, even with an additional math support elective, make it impossible for me to use as many of the tasks as I want to.

My class is small-group special education, and my 9 students, in even smaller task groups, take a long time to think about authentic tasks. They need a lot of scaffolding, but I want it to be judicious, not short-circuiting their potential.

So, the jury is still out on this, because my students' learning pace prohibits the TIME needed to invest in authentic THINKING.

P.S. The CULMINATING tasks in the Georgia curriculum are a weakness, however, because they aren't product-based and can be completed by "filling in the answers."

[Michelle]

Math is the real world. In a recent discussion a friend was expression frustration with a renter who was in his early 20's and did not know show to write a check. This is an education problem. All math concepts are vital to learn, but what about the concepts such as balancing a check book, investing money in today's markets and figuring change. We have all had an experience in a retail store where a young cashier could not give the correct change. How as educators can we make a difference? Maybe these basic life skills are not printed in our books, but it is still our responsiblity to teach these life skills.

[J. Peterson]

It is very interesting to me to read about teaching consumer math to students to better promote the real life applications of math. I do not disagree at all but in my school district, they have actually taken that class out of the high school curriculum. They are pushing Algebra for all so all students will be on the college track. I am very curious to see how this plays out over the years. The curriculum we use have real word problems each day, but discussions with students and looking into where math exists in their personal lives has made a difference in my class. Money is math and that is often quite a motivation for many. I believe there should be more time given in math that a 45 minute period so we can dig deeper into the text and further discuss the application, rather than focusing on simply the basic types of practice problems texts offer.

[J. Heaton]

It is very interesting that consumer mathematics has been taken out of most schools, especially in Indiana. I currently teach seventh grade and they do not even have basic math. They are currently studying pre-algebra. It is hard to incorporate of of these concepts to real-world situations because most of the students will only see this concepts while in school and will never use them in real-life. They need to be taught how to balance a checkbook, how to manintain a budget for themselves, and how to figure taxes. It would greatly help in today's society. I only have a 50-minute class period to work with my students every day and it is hard to get everything in pre-algebra accomplished in this time frame. I believe in order for the students to maintain more mathematical concepts that math needs to be taught in more than a 50-minute time frame. When students graduate from high school or college, they need to know the basics to help out in the real-world.

[Ann Marie]

All of this emphasis on real world problems. It's like putting the cart before the horse. You can't apply multiplication to real world until you know how to mutiply and multiply WELL. Too many math programs refuse to have children do rote memorization so they CAN apply their knowledge to the real world. Instead they focus on the real world problems before they've mastered the basic math or math concepts. Of course they can't apply them to the real world, you've denied them the fundamental basics they NEED FIRST!

[Paul M. Rutherford, PhD]

As a nation, we must do two things,(1)restructure our high schools to accomodate getting students OUT of the mathematics classroom and into the REAL world, and (2) restructure teacher education institutions to provide a more real world experience for pre-service teachers of mathematics.

[Kristy McKercher]

The educational institution is a major part of the foundation of the real world. Because of this, I find it odd to hear people use the term real world while excluding education from the terminology. At the same time I understand why. Among other things, the real world doesn't have subject matter compartmentalized and packaged into nice 87-minute time segments - let alone nine months at a time with little continuation of focused activity in the break prior to the next nine-month stretch of activity. Let's dream here....If one were to include education as part of the real world definition, what would that look like? How would a high school that was considered part of the real world operate?

[Kelly]

The problem is that we teach the rote procedures first. Kids can learn the procedures with the applications. They don't need to learn the procedures first. Often if you use the right examples, the application will lead the student somewhat intuitively to the procedures. A teacher I know started with word problems to teach writing the equation of a line. For the first time ever, I have heard someone say, "My kids are good at word problems. I'm afraid to give them a problem with just the numbers."
Many of the computational procedures we spend so much time drilling into kids can now be done by calculators. (Yes, even factoring polynomials.) Wouldn't it be better if they actually understood what a polynomial was and when they are used, rather than how to factor one?

[Darlene]

Another problem that drives the curriculum choices at the high school level is our Universities. Many colleges will only recognize classes such as Algebra, Geometry, and Calculus as math credits for admittance. Students get to college and have to be independently financially responsible alongside an inundation of credit applications (offered at low, low rates – at least for the first six months) and then we wonder why they leave college owing more money then they will probably earn in their first year if not two years. Many states and school districts have dropped the courses that help our students determine career choices and be productive, economically sound citizens and we back their decisions when we vote them (school board members to the President of the United States) into office.
This is work that should begin with elementary students; savings and spending they can understand and they will do it well when it has real meaning for them. I have always used money situations to help them gain meaning – multiplication= buying multiples, decimals to dollars, percentages to sale prices, etc. But do we do it in a consistent approach or in a scattergun approach? Everyone would benefit from an economics or consumer math course. More than a ‘real world’ label, I like to think of it as an application level – if we teach them rote skills that is how they will apply them, but if we teach them at the application level (in real situations) they will be able to expand their thinking beyond the remote. Even the most brilliant students in AP Calculus or higher some times have problems balancing their check book or understanding balloon interest payments.