In the article, “When Will We Ever Use Math in Real Life?” challenged the preconceived thought of many students entering another year of math class, that we actually won’t ever use this math outside of the calss room so what is the point of using it. In order to address this common question, individuals in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers were asked to show students how math is used daily in their careers. For example, an architect showed that geometric shapes play a huge role in his everyday work. After showing these videos month after month in their classes, teachers reported that their students were more interested in learning new math concepts.
I thought this article was very interesting. I thought it was interesting because as a high school student, I also questioned if I would use math in the “real-world.” I think all subjects within STEM are extremely important and will be used well after high school classes. I also thought that creating videos from real-life people who continue to use math in their daily life was a very creative and effective way to portray its importance to high school students. I know that if I would have seen a video like this in high school I might have appreciated what I was learning much more.
This article relates to NETS standard number four because through viewing these videos students are able to think critically and use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to understand why math is important and how it is used in daily life after high school.
Stein, Sarah. "When Will We Ever Use Math in Real Life?" Learning & Leading. ISTE, n.d. Web. 2012. http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/DigitalEdition/digital-edition-june-july-2012.aspx.
This article caught my attention when I first saw it because math is actually my favorite subject. I know you don't hear that often, in fact you usually hear that math is someone's least favorite subject. I admit, it can get boring and repetitive but it is one of the best subjects you will use in your later life. I really liked the idea of showing students videos every month of how the subject can be useful. It is very helpful to a student to see when and how they will use math in their lives outside of the classroom. I too wish my high school showed these videos to us so the students could appreciate and benefit from the subject.
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to be an expert, but everyone should be decent enough at Math to be able to perform everyday functions without the use of an iPhone. I think it's embarrassing when people have to rely on calculators to do the simplest equations like calculating a tip at a restaurant, for instance. It's part of being an educated human.
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