What do we need algebra for?

Thanks to the @OpenCulture blog, I got to listen to a very interesting interview with Keith Devlin. Keith argues that kids need algebraic reasoning, and arithmetic, to a point. He doesn't say kids need to be able to do pencil and paper algebra, in fact, he has a very interesting argument for using spreadsheets more often in schools. Listen here:

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Math in the real world: Relationships

This is another post in a series I'm doing on math in the real world.

Image credit: mvplante

There is a lot of different types of mathematics in family relationships.

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Sharing ideas about math in the real world

I'm very interesting in finding ways mathematics is present in the world outside of the classroom, which I'll call the "real world." Obviously what students do in the classroom is part of the real world, but too often in math instruction school math is completely separate from the contexts kids experience in their day to day lives. I'd like to build a collection of resources for math teachers so that we aren't all scrambling in the dark looking for ways to incorporate more contextual learning in our teaching.

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Math in the real world: Randomness in nature

This is another post in a series I'm doing on math in the real world.

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Math in the real world: Architecture and Construction

This is another post in a series I'm doing on math in the real world.

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Math in the real world: Trees

This is another post in a series I'm doing on math in the real world.

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Kevin Slavin: How algorithms shape our world

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Math in the real world: Which piece of cake?

This is the second in a series of posts on math in the real world.

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Math in the real world: Carnival probability

This is the first in a series of posts on mathematics in the "real world."

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Make it relevant or engaging, or don't teach it

What you teach should either have relevance in your students lives, either now or in their future, or it should be engaging. If neither of those is true, don't teach it.

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