In search of a better math

Posted by lapazfarm on April 5th, 2008 filed in living math, Curriculum or Lack Thereof...

Along with a lot of other folks, I’ve been doing a good bit of thinking about math lately.

Let me explain why:

When I pulled Superboy out of school in mid-4th grade, he hated math. Hated it. I made it one of my topmost priorities to re-instill the love of math that he had as a little tike. I used several alternative math resources, avoiding texts like the plague, and using workbooks sparingly and very judiciously. We did lots of reading about math and playing math games and just exploring interesting math concepts. And for three and a half years math was fun. He loved math. Said it was his very favorite subject, even!

Success!

Then came this year. For some reason when I planned our math curriculum for this year, I panicked and let my fears of “being ready for high school” get in the way of what I knew to be working. And working well.

I had the best of intentions, but I also think I was being a bit lazy. After all, doing all of this “fun” math took a good bit of effort on my part.

So, I ordered the Basic High School Math DVD’s from the Teaching Company. A set of DVD’s and an accompanying workbook came in the mail and my math worries were over! Or so I thought!

Now, Teaching Company courses are usually excellent, and I think this might have worked, except that for this particular course the lecturer was just….so….boring. In fact, Superboy took to calling him “Professor Boring,” which is not a good sign, let me tell you. And the accompanying workbooks were not great, either. Instead of starting out with simple problems to solidify the concept, and working towards more difficult examples, it started off with the tough stuff right off the bat, and provided very little repetition-at least not enough to lead toward any kind of mastery, or retention. And although Superboy is almost finished with the course, I am not so sure he has learned anything much at all.

What a total flop. And it is totally my fault. I should have listened to Superboy’s complaints and paid attention to his waning level of interest and done something about it much sooner. But, I was just so overwelmed with dh being gone and trying to learn about Montessori for JBug, and caring for 5 kids by mayself that I admit the idea of handing the responsibility for Superboy’s math instruction over to someone else was very appealing. Too appealing.

And as a result, a year in which Superboy’s basic math skills should have been solidified in order to move on to Algebra next year, was instead spent wasted on a math program that did little or nothing to improve his skills, and much to destroy his enthusiasm. *sigh* Back to square one.

I could kick myself, really. I’ve been doing this homeschooling thing too long to make this kind of major mistake.

So, what am I going to do about it???? Good question.

I have been seeking out math sites in hopes of gaining ideas and insight into better methods of math education. I have found a few worth further exploration, and like Angela, I am just throwing them out there for your consideration:

Living Math: The mother lode, and the source which first inspired and informed me with the methods I adopted 3 years ago. Many of you have probably seen this site before. It’s worth a second look.

Lets Play Math blog: a great resource I’ve used before. Home of the super-fun Alexandria Jones math adventures.

Math Mojo : looks promising, very different. I signed up for the quarterly newsletter so we’ll see what it brings.

Wild About Math: a fun blog discussing interesting math problems, with contests.

Rational Math Education Blog : as the homepage states, ” Exploring the disinformation on mathematics education being shilled daily on the internet.” Hmm…

Keith Devlin:The Math Guy : audio files of the NPR broadcasts. Great food for thought.

Devlin’s Angle: his column for the Mathematical Association of America.

Ok, so all of this is great, but what I really want to find is a resource for project-based math at the high school level. And that so far has evaded me.

And…

You’re going to love this… I have the Teaching Company High School Algebra course (which thankfully has a different professor) and believe it or not I do have hopes of using it next year.

But the difference will be that I will not rely on that course as Superboy’s sole exposure to math next year. It will be a supplement to whatever living math resources I decide to pull together, instead of the other way around. My free math ride is over, and now I need to buck up and do what I should have done this year in the first place:

Figure out how to make high school math as interesting, relevant, and enjoyable as elementary math was.

Anyone care to join me?

Leave me your ideas and your links!

12 Responses to “In search of a better math”

teresa Says:
April 5th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
HI Theresa,
I have not tried this but, Video Text (http://www.videotext.com/homeschool.htm) is the program that is recommended after one finishes RightStart (www.alabacus.com).

We just love RightStart, it really teaches understanding, gently. So I am hoping that their recommendation for algebra and beyond is also great.

Good luck!
blessedmommy Says:
April 5th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
sounds great, thank for the links:D
piseco Says:
April 5th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
I am so lucky to have you AND Angela, two fantastic resource-collectors, out there several years ahead of me! I’m just entering into the fun-elementary-math stage, myself, so by the time JediBoy catches up to Superboy and Scout, you’ll have all my trial-and-error done for me!
Jennifer Says:
April 6th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Math is so not my strong point, but I really like your idea of continuing with a baseline course (Teaching Company) and adding in the projects on top of it.

Have you considered combining the living math with a science field that requires lots of math? I know Superboy thrives on science and to illustrate the neccessity of math in his favorite subject might bring the spark back into math for him.
Meredith Says:
April 6th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Well, we’re still in Saxon land and it’s working for us, but as High School approaches I’ll be looking to you for the lead :))) Have fun and love all these great links!
Sonya Says:
April 6th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
My oldest (13) has used Saxon from day one of our homeschool adventure. She has always done well with it so we are using Saxon algebra courses for high school. It’s not exciting but she has learned very well with it. My youngest (9) is a different story. Saxon does not work for her and she hates, I mean really hates, math. I’m going to check out the links you listed. Thanks so much for throwing them out there for all of us to check out!
laraszoo Says:
April 6th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Not algebra, but for Geometry, if Superboy likes working on the computer I strongly recommend the program Geometer’s Sketchpad. The program comes with a book with several project ideas and there is a seperate book that I wish I’d gotten that is just projects for the program.
Rhonda Says:
April 7th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Thanks for the links. My oldest daughter will begin high school math in the fall and I am looking for something new. Math is one of her weaker subjects and there are still days that she does not enjoy it. She has come a long way since public school (where she hated math), but I, like you, would like to make her high school years enjoyable.
childsplay Says:
April 11th, 2008 at 12:51 am
I took Naturalist out of school at the end of 3rd…same thing with math hatred. She would literally have panic attacks when I’d try to do ‘math time’.

For 3 years now, we’ve been taking the ‘living math’ route…no more panic attacks but I’m always looking out for more structure to help fill in her gaps…gaps being that she is a very non linear, unsequential thinker, so any curriculum is a stretch for her.

On a whim, I took her to a vedic math program and was amazed to actually hear her say “This is SO FUN!”, so we signed up on the spot. It’s a totally different approach from us westerners, but the fact that she is doing multiplication easily is a huge step!
lapazfarm Says:
April 11th, 2008 at 1:17 am
Ok, I guess I am going to have to Google vedic math. Sounds intriguing!
Lim Ee Hai Says:
April 11th, 2008 at 6:02 am
I believe that what ever we do, we need to go back to basis to solidify our maths principles. Only upon learning and understanding completely the concepts can a maths learner move forward to more advance topic. Many maths tools are available in the internet for us to surf. I suppose we need to select properly the type of resources to match each students interest and ability.
Learning maths is important and rather taxing for those teaching it. With patience and effort, I believe we can contribute whatever little we can.
Angela, MotherCrone Says:
April 12th, 2008 at 7:50 am
Oh yes! I am so thrilled that you are joining us in the search for fabulous living math! Somehow I wasn’t getting your feeds…thank goodness I went searching for you this morning!

We have module A of Videotext, and Reagan loves it. The program might work for you, in that the lessons are really short,and pre-algebra and algebra can be done in the same year.(Mod. A,B, &C) . It is pricey, but check ebay and used sales, as you can get it much less inexpensively. I like that we will have more time to do the fun things that make math enjoyable for us all.

Ty checked it out and wants me to get it for Alg II as well. The shorter lessons appeal to him, so that he can finish in 2/3 year an dwe can spend the rest creating an investment /stock market project to compliment his economics class for hte last part of the year. I found Walch Publishing has some interesting experential high school math units, where you use math skills to travel down the Amazon, or are Standed on an island, etc. They are designed more for the classroom, so I am unsure how we could adapt them, but it looks great,