Math+Strategies+that+Work

= __Math Strategies - What are they and why should I use them?__ =  Six Super Strategies in Math: 1. //Question - //Identify the question. 2. //Visualize -// See the problem, the process, and the answer. 3. //Connect - //Describe the problem in real life setting. 4. //Infer - //Make inferences as you analyze the data. 5. //Predict - //Predict the answer. Estimate the answer. 6. //Conclude-// Answer the problem by deciding on the correct operations and using the important data.

__QVC-IPC Example:__ solve proportion problems 1. A super market advertises 3 pounds of tomatoes for $2.40. How much would it cost to buy 5 pounds of tomatoes? 2. You will use a photocopier to reduce an 8 inch by 10 inch photograph to 50% of its original size. Does the reduced photograph have half the perimeter and half the area of the original? 3. In 1997, 7450 million pounds of bananas were consumed in the U.S. That year, the U.S. population was 269 million people, and 32,268,000 lived in California. Approximate the number of pounds of bananas eaten in California in 1997.

Harvey and Goudvis, in their book “Strategies that Work” provide teachers with instructional strategies that capture a kids’ interest. Engagement is the goal regardless of the subject area. The first strategy, questioning, opens the doors to understanding. It is through questioning, that students begin to clarify their understanding. Second, students need to be able to visualize the process, the problem, and the answer. Understanding is enhanced, once students begin to have a pictorial representation. Third, connections must be made. Research shows that students need to be able to make connections between what they know and the new information they encounter. Students are engaged when they can relate to what is being taught in the classroom or read in a book. Harvey and Goudvis, describe the next strategy, drawing inferences, as the intersection of taking what is known, gathering clues, and then thinking ahead in order to make a judgment or a prediction. After students are able to infer and predict, they can begin to synthesize information. This will in turn allow them to generate new ideas and summarize the information by identifying the key components.

Click here to link to the BPS Math Strategies Wiki