A long term study conducted by researchers at Rutgers University followed the development of mathematical thinking in a randomly selected group of students for 12 years - from 1st grade through high school. This study showed surprising results. The videos I watched show an overview of the study and was able to witness the conditions that made their math achievement possible.
In first and second grade they were presented a problem: Stephen has a white shirt, a blue shirt and a yellow shirt. He has a pair of blue jeans and a pair of white jeans. How many different outfits can he make?
When in first grade the students solved the problem and came up with 5 different combinations. They used symbols and words to solve the problem.
A few months later the same students entered third grade. They revisited the same problem with the shirts. This time when they started counting outfits a young girl Stephanie, began drawing lines to connect the different shirts and pants. In conclusion she came up with a total of six possible combinations. Just in one year students mathematical thinking process grew. Students learned from the first time and changed strategies when given the problem a second time.
I liked watching the students solve the problems. I would try to solve the problems along with the video. It was interesting to try to see their view on problems. I liked how the reserach developers presented different problems over the years with similar concepts. Children were solving high-school math problems in elementary school. In today's society there is alot of pressure to meet state standards that does not allow for exploration. In the video students were given fun math problems; over the years they had no idea of their teacher's objectives. They were learning and having fun. The best part it was real life situations and hands on!
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