Timeline for "Table" method for expanding brackets vs "each term in the first bracket gets multiplied by each term in the second bracket"
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
13 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 7, 2019 at 0:01 | comment | added | Adam Rubinson | I’m not pushing my method onto them yet. But some students take longer than necessary to do the table. The table method is long and time-consuming. With my method, when you get good at it you can do it quickly in your head and get the answer in a few seconds. With the table method it takes longer for anyone. And this makes completing the square hard to teach. But maybe I’m just being impatient | |
| Oct 6, 2019 at 23:23 | history | became hot network question | |||
| Oct 6, 2019 at 18:32 | comment | added | Adam Rubinson | However, It is probably a good idea to make a graphical connection before making it abstract. I think I see your point now | |
| Oct 6, 2019 at 18:30 | comment | added | Adam Rubinson | actually, of course you can draw that equation: it is the intersection of two quadratic curves. However, what if one side was divided by (x-2), it’s not so easy to readily “draw what that looks like” without some algebraic rule-following first. | |
| Oct 6, 2019 at 18:22 | comment | added | Adam Rubinson | I wonder why the rule I use, namely “each term in the first bracket is multiplied by each term in the second bracket” isn’t sufficient for everyone. It was sufficient for me, and seems succinct and simplest. Is this rule ambiguous or unclear? After all, algebra is somewhat abstract. You can’t graphically draw: x^2 -3x + 6 = 9x^2 + 3x - 7. You have to manipulate this equation using algebraic rules/laws. So why do we have to go all graphical when expanding brackets? Surely in order to expand brackets, which is just something else in algebra, you just need to learn another rule. | |
| Oct 6, 2019 at 17:58 | comment | added | Sue VanHattum♦ | It is connected to the area model. Making that connection clearer may help your students more than trying to push them (before they're ready) to a purer algebraic method. (See my answer below.) | |
| Oct 6, 2019 at 17:56 | comment | added | Adam Rubinson | @SueVanHattum They are using the “Table method” as in the link in my question. | |
| Oct 6, 2019 at 17:47 | comment | added | Sue VanHattum♦ | You said you are a tutor. What method is their teacher using? (Or am I confused about the use of the term tutor?) You would definitely want to work with what they are learning in class, if I understand your situation correctly. I give a fuller answer below about the value of using area models. | |
| Oct 6, 2019 at 17:47 | answer | added | Sue VanHattum♦ | timeline score: 6 | |
| Oct 6, 2019 at 17:15 | answer | added | JTP - Apologise to Monica | timeline score: 6 | |
| Oct 6, 2019 at 16:15 | answer | added | Steven Gubkin | timeline score: 5 | |
| Oct 6, 2019 at 15:15 | review | First posts | |||
| Oct 6, 2019 at 15:45 | |||||
| Oct 6, 2019 at 15:14 | history | asked | Adam Rubinson | CC BY-SA 4.0 |