Timeline for How do I teach algebra?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
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| Jun 18, 2020 at 8:32 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
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| Nov 22, 2018 at 3:26 | comment | added | guest | No problem. I just worried that you are trying to come up with one more insight/intuition. Those are fine, but I really think the mechanistic approach (do same thing to both sides) is the way to go. That and lots of drill. Yeah...kids these days...tell me about it. Darned emo millenials. Nobody knows how to drive stick any more. ;-) | |
| Nov 21, 2018 at 22:33 | comment | added | Rusty Core | @guest Not sure who do you mean by "the poster". I thought my answer was actually quite sympathetic to those with weak math skills. Balance scale - what can be more simple and ubiquitous... oh, who am I kidding, not in a 21st century first world country with supermarkets and pre-packaged food. Even the butcher's section is equipped with digital scales. Still, the concept of adding or removing the same weight to both sides of the balance scale seems to me very natural, and it directly leads to very mechanistic, algorithmic process of solving an equation. | |
| Nov 21, 2018 at 20:27 | comment | added | guest | The "do same thing on both sides" is very, very powerful. Especially for kids that are weaker intrinsically and in experience. Yes, Feynman (who I admire) looked down on the mechanistic approach since he had strong arithmetic skills and jumped to intuitive explanations (like you do in your answer). But the point is if you AREN'T that strong already, the mechanistic approach helps immensely. OF COURSE you will progress beyond that if you are strong or even just if you get enough DRILL. But start with the basics. Seriously...look at the question detail: WEAK STUDENTS. | |
| Nov 21, 2018 at 17:38 | history | answered | Rusty Core | CC BY-SA 4.0 |