How many times has your child said "I will never use this math again"! The fact is, we use math and math concepts every single day, and don't even think about it. We follow a speed limit, we monitor street crossings and calculate if we need to walk fast or can walk leisurely to make it across the street, we spend money, etc. The Tutoring Club teaches every level of math our students bring to us, including advanced math! Read some key points we took from an excellent article:
Any global
contexts used in math should add to an understanding of the math, as well as
the world. To do that, teachers should stay focused on teaching good, sound,
rigorous, and appropriate math content and use global examples that work. For
instance, learners will find little relevance in solving a word problem in
Europe using kilometers instead of miles when instruments already convert the
numbers easily. It doesn't contribute to a complex understanding of the
world.
Algebra can explain how quickly water becomes
contaminated and how many people in a third-world country drinking that water
might become ill on a yearly basis. A study of geometry can explain the science
behind architecture throughout the world. Statistics and probability can
estimate death tolls from earthquakes, conflicts and other calamities around
the world. It can also predict profits, how ideas spread, and how previously
endangered animals might repopulate.
Math is often
studied as a pure science, but is typically applied to other disciplines,
extending well beyond physics and engineering. For instance, studying
exponential growth and decay (the rate at which things grow and die) within the
context of population growth, the spread of disease, or water contamination, is
meaningful. It not only gives students a real-world context in which to use the
math, but helps them understand global phenomena—they may hear about a disease
spreading in India, but can't make the connection without understanding how
fast something like cholera can spread in a dense population. In fact, adding a
study of growth and decay to lower level algebra—it's most often found in
algebra II—may give more students a chance to study it in the global context
than if it's reserved for the upper level math that not all students take.
In a similar
vein, a study of statistics and probability is key to understanding many of the
events of the world, and is usually reserved for students at a higher level of
math, if it gets any study in high school at all. But many world events and
phenomena are unpredictable and can only be described using statistical models,
so a globally focused math program needs to consider including statistics.
Probability and statistics can be used to estimate death tolls from natural
disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunamis; the amount of aid that might be
necessary to help in the aftermath; and the number people who would be
displaced.
If students are given the right content and
context for a globally infused math curriculum, they'll be able to make global
connections using math, and create a math model that reflects the complexity
and interrelatedness of global situations and events. They'll be able to apply
math strategies to solve problems and develop and explain the use of a given
math concept in the global sense. And they'll be able to use the right math
tools in the right situations, and explain why a math model they chose is
relevant. More importantly, students will be able to use data to draw
defensible conclusions, and use mathematical knowledge and skills to make
real-life impact.
