<< Dear Karen,
Hmm! I'm glad you're the one whose opinion I asked, since I disagree
entirely (and so I get the opportunity to think about this some more!)
<< (Since I happen to think timed tests are a bad idea, I prefer to boost my
students' confidence NOW)>>
You know, I am really far more compassionate than I've been coming off in my
last handful of posts, but you all are just poking at my pet peaves......
My job is to teach them math, not build their confidence. In doing well on a
test (without any crutches), the student will have EARNED a boost in self-
confidence. Artificial confidence can only get someone in trouble later.
> On the other side of this question...
> 1) If my student is going on to be an elementary school teacher, she
better
> know how to do a long division problem quickly "on her feet", because
she'll
> be under the gun with 25 little faces staring at her.
<>
So, if I have a student who needs 15 minutes to work out a 5th grade math
problem, that's ok? I don't think so.
<< -- the idea that to do math, they have to know the answer
immediately, and if they don't, they shouldn't bother.>>
Not the idea..... the student (who will be a teacher) must know how to work
the problem fairly immediately.... the answer will come shortly.
> 2) If my student is going on to be a nurse, she better know how to figure
how
> much medication to give AND FAST or she could kill someone in an emergency
> room.
<>
I just came back from a conference where I learned about how math is used by
resperatory technicians......... These are the people who need to make quick
adjustments in settings when you are in real trouble -- if they're wrong, you
can die. It's all calculations with proportions. "Let me think about it."...
while you die.
Karen the opinionated
www.coolmath.com
Orange Coast College
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