These teenagers can do incredible math in their minds but fail in the classroom
However, these same kids (most of them 14 or 15) struggle with simpler school math problems, such as basic splits. (After making the purchase, the undercover shopper revealed their identities and asked the seller to participate in the research and complete a series of abstract math exercises.)
Market sellers received some formal education. Most people are attending school part-time or have been in school for many years before.
Duflo didn’t know how young street sellers learned to calculate so quickly in their minds. This will take longer anthropological studies to observe them. But Duflo was able to collect some of their strategies, such as rounding. For example, a street seller might not multiply 490 by 20 by 490 by 20, instead of multiplying 500 by 20 and then deleting 20 seconds or 200. In contrast, school children tend to use algorithms for multiplication algorithms for lengthy pencil and paper calculations. They usually don’t see more effective solutions to the problem.
In the United States, the lessons learned from this study may be important in the United States. Some cognitive psychologists theoretically learn mathematics in the real world can help children absorb abstract mathematics and apply it in different situations. However, this Indian study shows that for most students, this type of knowledge transfer may not occur automatically or easily. Duflo said educators need to figure out how to better utilize the math skills students already have. I suspect it is easier said than done.
Duflo said her research is not an argument for applied or abstract mathematics. “To conclude that we should only solve specific problems is a mistake, because we also see that children who are very good at specific problems cannot solve abstract problems,” she said. “In life, at least in school life, you all need it.” Both. “Many market children end up dropping out of school altogether.
Back at the farm stand near me, I remember how I magically mastered it a few months later, and rarely needed pencils and paper. Sadly, Hall Farm is no longer there for the town’s children to practice spiritual math. Now, it is replaced by the suburban subdivision of premium houses.
This About Applied Mathematics Written by Jill Barshay by Hechinger Reporta nonprofit, independent news organization focuses on inequality and innovation in education. register Proof point There are others Hechinger Communications.
