Reply to Pilot enriched math and social studies classes in MCPS MS

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

There is absolutely no need to have a group project for math. It is a waste of time.  [/quote]

Why do you think that a group project in math is a waste of time?[/quote]

I also think it's generally a waste of time as implemented in schools, but I believe it could be very valuable if designed correctly. Most of the projects (i.e the examples others brought up of their kids bringing home in the thread) involve a lot of wasted time, and very little math (whatever math is used to calculate prices, money, etc. is very basic, and there are no ideas/concepts that are valuable, ideas which would show kids a neat way of applying the math to real life). I think it's not easy to come up with good projects at the lower levels, and that is why it's so critical to get curriculum developers who actually majored in science/math/engineering to be the ones making the curriculum. Most of the "educators" who come up with the curriculum and projects are not qualified to do this having, no relevant experience, hence the boring everyday math type projects (which incidentally can kill kids interest in the subject if they are perceived as basic, and/or too much focused on calculation, and no neat ideas to discover/explore).

These things may be fine for many kids in schools if they are not too advanced, but for the brightest ones (who also tend to get bored more easily), the projects have to engage in a deeper way (beyond just having kids talk, and/or come up with something creative, etc. but which doesn't involve much math). My opinion is that a good project gets to the point quickly by presenting a problem to solve which does not initially suggest to kids a path to the solution. The problem has to be interesting, draw the kids in, have many different ways to explore it/attack it, and have one or more neat mathematical ideas and/or extensions of that math topic that makes kids see an "aha" moment once they figure out a strategy for solving it. Essentially when one thinks of a good puzzle and approaches for solving it, that should be the same type of experience kids have when doing a math project together. At the end of the project the kids should feel enlightened in some way and have seen a new way to think/apply the ideas they learned.

I believe the bulk of math group projects given in schools are not challenging enough and do not contain many of the above properties. As a result they often turn into a tedious, boring, and time consuming task that doesn't feel interesting to the advanced kids.

[/quote]

Well said. In the taco truck example, the interesting part of the project is not on math. It could be a good project if the class is a baby business planning class. Giving kids hard math problems and ask them to present their approach/solution to the class can even be a much better way to get them some public speaking/group discussion experience. Or have a few of them tackle a hard problem together. The taco truck project is just so basic in math but so tedious to execute, I just don't see the point. 
[/quote]

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