Comments on: When are the right answers the wrong answers?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:54:30 +0000

um… the teacher may have asked students to write it out and NOT use the abbrevated form.. Did anyone ask???

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 02 May 2010 13:11:23 +0000

Investigations claim that they boost deep math understanding for students. From my observation from my kids (6 years by now), the ‘deep’ understanding is about writing and spelling. That is important, but it is NOT math. As a result, you don’t become a ‘deep math thinker’, you become a ’slow math thinker’.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 02 May 2010 12:58:44 +0000

1. You don’t need to have a math degree to know the notation for the unit for area. That’s something you learn in 3rd grade. If you even forgot that, then you are not qualified to teach the subject.

2. In no other math books have I seen that they require students to use literally ’square meter’, ’square kilometer’ as units. They would use ‘m^2′ and ‘km^2′, and explain to you that they are actually called ’square meter’ etc. ONLY in Investigations do they require students to actually write it out, and consider you wrong if you don’t.

So, yes, according to my common sense, Investigations is to blame.

By: Barb

Barb — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:17:36 +0000

That may be true.

In fourth grade, kids should be expected to solve multiplication and division problems. At the end of fourth grade son didn’t recognize the terms “quotient” or “product” (or know what to do to solve problems asking for those things) was since Investigations doesn’t seem to use that terminology. That is problem and Investigations IS to blame for that.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 03:26:44 +0000

My point was in that comment was that I don’t think Investigations Math is to blame for this problem.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 03:01:35 +0000

As elementary school teachers do not have to graduate with a math degree, many do not have an understanding of the correct mathematical notations, among other mathematical things. Perhaps this teacher didn’t recognize the notations the student used.