Commentary on "Why is Algebra so Hard?"
I am currently transitioning from teaching elementary to
teaching algebra at a middle school. Algebra is actually a high school course,
but more and more students in my district are taking it earlier than that, which
is how I got this job. It has been making me think about how algebra is so
important but is also very difficult for students. I stumbled across this Ted
Talk by Emmanuel Schanzer called, “Why is algebra so hard?” and just had to
watch it:
One of his quotes that struck me right away was, “Arithmetic
is to math as spelling is to journalism.” This is so true because arithmetic is
only a small part of mathematics. Much of mathematics is much more abstract than
this, which can be difficult for students. Students grow up thinking math is all
about finding an answer but algebra changes this.
This video then took a turn though. To me, it didn’t really
answer the question, “Why is algebra so hard?” but rather the question, “How
can we connect algebra and computer science?” It turns out that Emmanuel
developed a curriculum to incorporate computer science in the math classroom. At
first, I was skeptical but I went to the website of his company, Bootstrap. I
was blown away because the curriculum is all free! I began looking through it
and it looks very engaging and fun. It involves students using algebra to develop
a video game. I think I may have to give this a try either this year or in the
future. Even though this video was not what I was initially looking for, I am excited about the new ideas that it gave me.
This sounds like a great, free resource! I will have to look into it. Personally, I feel like algebra is "so hard" because of the problem solving and critical thinking skills we ask students to use. As a board game enthusiast who liked solving problems, I loved algebra. However, I know many of my classmates did not have the same sentiment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Danielle said! I'm in that group of "I love algebra!" which I know is quite rare, especially when helping my students with their math homework. I'm going to share this video with some of my colleagues too. I think this would be a great launching point for deeper conversations at school.
DeleteI agree that I love algebra because I love to solve complex problems! I know that not everyone feels the same way though, so it is important to try to make algebra engaging for all students. I'm glad that you both liked this resource. I'm happy that I stumbled upon it!
DeleteThat bootstrap website is an awesome resource. When I went back to school a few years ago it had been almost 12 years since I took a math course and trying to learn JavaScript and C# was not easy. I had to relearn how to do basic algebra and that bootstrap website was one of the resources my professor gave me. I don’t know why I still find algebra to be so difficult because I find different back-end programming languages make more sense. Maybe because you see what you create turns into something useful or functional like a game. Connecting computer science and algebra is a great way to teach students for both subjects. You really should give that website a try!
ReplyDelete-Jake
It's great to hear that this resource was one your professor recommended to you! I had never heard of it before watching this video. I think I'm going to try it! I'm hoping maybe I can get some of the other algebra teachers at my school to do it too so we can help each other with it. Thanks for sharing why algebra was difficult for you. That makes a lot of sense that coding was easier for you because it could turn into something useful and functional. That is definitely a problem with algebra.
DeleteMath FREAKS ME OUT. I mean terrifies me. I have extreme math anxiety. In elementary school where I should've gotten the fundamentals of math, I didn't. I remember in 5th grade, my math teacher telling my classmates and I to do the odd problems in the math textbook. As we sat there either quietly working or not working at all, I would look around and see my classmates zoned out, talking, or asleep.
ReplyDeleteI made a huge effort while I was a classroom teacher to make every subject fun and keep the engagement high. Bootstrap isn't for elementary teachers, but I will be sure to suggest it to middle and high school teachers in my district. Hey, elementary teachers may be interested in it as well.
I'm curious, were you "good" in math as a child? My mom is GREAT in math. She LOVES fractions. She tutors my nephew daily after school, who (because of her) is also good in math. They seem to catch on to the concepts so easily. He is now a 5th grader. My 4 year old nephew has also exceeded our expectations. It's such a good feeling to see them thriving.
Your question of if I was "good" in math as a child is a really interesting one. I did not feel like I was good at math as a child. I had a brother who I felt was a "math genius" and I just thought I was okay at math. It took me a long time to solve problems so I didn't think I was that good at it. It took until I had an amazing teacher in 9th grade that told me I should be in a higher level math class. When I went to college I just planned on getting my elementary teaching certificate, but I realized that I also loved math and pursued that teaching certificate as well. Math concepts did not come super quickly to me, but I love to problem solve. I try as much as possible to instill this in my students as well.
DeleteI have math to thank for my art career. I was sitting in calculus at the University of Illinois with a TA whose heavy accent I could not decipher. All I could decode was “te Fida” (test Friday). I spent the next three days walking campus from office to office changing my major. Thanks calculus. Unfortunately, It cost me, for good, my relationship with my father who was a mechanical engineer. In my small world math turned out to mean: ‘hate’. That’s OK. No need for sympathy, I was paying my own way through college, so his opinion was his own. So be it. That was back in the day when paying for school oneself was at all possible. I have since made peace with math and we work together well in a superficial manner. We do keep one eye on each other – just in case.
DeleteI understand how you felt Keith. I was in a calculus class in college where most of the students took calculus in high school but I had never taken calculus before. The TA quickly introduced derivatives and everyone got to work on the problems knowing exactly what they were doing. I had no idea what was going on. I felt like crying because I had just decided that I was going to be a math major. I thought in that moment I was going to have to switch majors. After sitting there for quite some time, I overheard another student say something that made derivatives finally click for me. I felt very lucky in that moment because it could have gone a very different way. It sounds like you not liking calculus worked out for the best though because you got to study what you love!
DeleteWhat a watershed moment that was for us. It also demonstrates how critical peers can be to one another in learning. I had no such individual at the time. All I could see was the TA getting smaller and smaller through a dark tunnel. And, BLIP, poof, I was out of pre-med. What is more, I received what the University referred to as, “Talented Student Tuition Scholarships” for every semester I attended U of I as an undergrad after that encounter. I later learned that those scholarships were normally awarded one semester per degree. The math penciled out.
DeleteI agree that peer support is really important. I'm sorry that you didn't have a peer to help you in that class. That's why I really encourage my students to talk to each other while they work on math. It means my classroom can be pretty loud but I know they are learning so much from each other.
DeleteThere is a lesson under the lesson in the topic you raise. The evolving path of Emmanuel Schanzer’s career plans in the video, are intriguing; particularly regarding the demands of 9 to 5 redundancy, and its impetus to scrap previous plans to rethink and re-aim the career trajectory when reality sets in. I found this to be honest and revealing. One question I have: was Emmanuel and the audience laughing at the cutting of Theater Arts & Music to make room for CS, or the fact that no more could be cut to make room in the budget? I wonder.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting question. It's really sad that art and music are often the first thing to be cut when a school needs more money in it's budget. I know how important music and theater were for me growing up. Because it is kind of a cliché that those are the subjects that are cut, I think that's why people laughed. I wish though that when we talked about adding programs to a school, that we didn't have to also talk about cutting programs. Unfortunately, money will always be a problem with schools.
DeleteIt makes me sad reading the stories above. I really struggled at math in school. I had a teacher that convinced me I was no good. I had her in middle school and they I was luck enough that she moved to the high school at the same time I did. I then ended up having her for a math teacher in high school too. I can still hear her sigh and see her roll her eyes when I was brave enough to ask her a question.
ReplyDeleteI have found that this experience has made me a much better teacher because I have so much empathy for my struggling math students. I can encourage them and help them find ways that make sense to them. Now math is one of my favorite subjects to teach and is one of my favorite parts of the school day!
Hannah, It sounds like an exciting new step to go from elementary to middle school. Have you ever taught middle school before?
I'm sorry that you had a teacher like that for multiple years. A bad math teacher was actually one of the reasons I decided I wanted to be a math teacher. This teacher constantly taught things incorrectly but students were afraid of him so they wouldn't say anything. I wasn't though so I would raise my hand and politely correct him. After a while, other students started coming to me for help and I realized I really loved helping other people with math.
DeleteI have taught middle school before. I taught seventh grade math for two years. I really enjoyed it but the school wasn't the right fit for me. I am excited to be going to a new middle school and for the opportunity to teach higher level math.
I feel that students have to want to learn, have to find it fun, and has to have the right learning method. Truthfully, I can't remember a teacher making algebra fun. Most of the time, they would give a lecture on how to solve, but no fun activity was provided.
ReplyDeleteAlgebra is a difficult subject to make fun. I always tell my students that I will try to make it fun but can't guarantee that every day will be fun. Sometimes I do need to model how a problem is solved. I do include a lot of real world problems though. For instance, I have a problem where we figure out how much a 100 by 100 burger at In-N-Out would cost.(Google the picture of this burger. It's pretty crazy!) I also have a lot of fun, interactive online activities I use like Desmos.
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