GT-CyberSource Logo

Welcome to the Gifted Issues Discussion Forum.

We invite you to share your experiences and to post information about advocacy, research and other gifted issues on this free public discussion forum. CLICK HERE to Log In.

Links
DITD Logo

GT-CyberSource

Find a Resource

How gifted-friendly is
your state?

Gifted Exchange Blog

Subscribe to e-Newsletters

Who's Online
0 Registered (), 5 Guests and 3 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
Maha Falatah, gabriella, Shar, Amoreena, MaggieS
1666 Registered Users
Page 4 of 5 < 1 2 3 4 5 >
Topic Options
#19888 - 07/12/08 12:15 PM Re: School Decision Time [Re: incogneato]
Dazed&Confuzed Offline
Member

Registered: 04/05/08
Posts: 620
OH incogneato - are you my long lost sister? I'm having the exact same issues w/ DS. I've always been a year behind him with math. I took someone's advice not to teach him math b/c he'd be bored in school - well he was bored anyway, and i've spent years trying to play catch up. I'm just looking at math curriculum today. The next level up - he is conceptually already through more than half of it and we haven't even started. And there are many, many concepts in Level E (two levels up) that he is ready for or needs in his everyday life.

Top
#19952 - 07/12/08 09:39 PM Re: School Decision Time [Re: Dazed&Confuzed]
CuriousGreen Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 07/12/08
Posts: 2
Glad that helped, and sorry to confuse your child's gender, I got mixed up in various people's discussions. Another thing to consider is thinking about the long division algorithm as a computational thinking exercise. Have your child write out the algorithm abstractly with variables instead of numbers and then see if you can solve problems with it when you plug in numbers like a computer program. Or if you're up to it actually write a computer program together that does long division only using simpler operations. But it is tricky to do this sort of thing if you don't have a strong math background, so some help might be handy here. I'm a cs prof, so I'm always interested in ways to get students understanding computational concepts earlier in
life...

All of these things will help cement concepts and increase abstract thought, which is fun, but there *is* some benefit to drilling in stupid, boring problems (mainly speed). It might be useful to teach a bit of a science lesson on how the brain works. If your daughter understands how practicing division problems (and practicing other skills) builds faster pathways between the neurons in her brain, so that she can do the problems without as much conscious thought, she might be more receptive to that kind of learning.

Top
#19972 - 07/13/08 09:37 AM Re: School Decision Time [Re: CuriousGreen]
squirt Offline
Member

Registered: 03/31/08
Posts: 192
Loc: North to Alaska! Back 8/23
Hey, all, I'm just back from a week in Wyoming. It is beautiful there! I'm catching up on some of these posts and am wondering what Modular Arithmetic is? Curious, could you write out an example of what you mean by "long division algorithm as a computational thinking exercise"?

By the way, I'm feeling pretty good about the decision to go with the private school. Now to just sort out some details and scheduling issues (and money, of course!).

Top
#19975 - 07/13/08 09:43 AM Re: School Decision Time [Re: squirt]
Cathy A Offline
Member

Registered: 05/26/07
Posts: 849
Loc: Home Sweet Home
Here's an article about modular arithmetic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modular_arithmetic

You can also think of it in terms of remainders. For example,

5 = 2 mod 3 because 5/3=1 remainder 2.

Top
#19976 - 07/13/08 10:01 AM Re: School Decision Time [Re: Cathy A]
Kriston Offline
Member

Registered: 09/19/07
Posts: 2918
Loc: Easing back into schoolwork
Welcome back, squirt!

I think of time as the easy, English-major-friendly example of mod: the 24 hour clock is a sort of mod system. We don't say 23:00 (unless we're in the military), we say 11:00. 23:00 = 11:00 mod 12.

Does that help? smile

Top
#19977 - 07/13/08 10:06 AM Re: School Decision Time [Re: Kriston]
Dazed&Confuzed Offline
Member

Registered: 04/05/08
Posts: 620
Now I know why I went into Immunology......

Top
#19979 - 07/13/08 10:13 AM Re: School Decision Time [Re: Dazed&Confuzed]
Kriston Offline
Member

Registered: 09/19/07
Posts: 2918
Loc: Easing back into schoolwork
I have no idea what you mean, said the English major...

grin

Top
#19981 - 07/13/08 10:32 AM Re: School Decision Time [Re: Kriston]
Cathy A Offline
Member

Registered: 05/26/07
Posts: 849
Loc: Home Sweet Home
I switched my major from biology to math because I don't like memorizing stuff.

Top
#19984 - 07/13/08 10:34 AM Re: School Decision Time [Re: Cathy A]
Dazed&Confuzed Offline
Member

Registered: 04/05/08
Posts: 620
Interesting...I don't like memory stuff either but I went into Immunology. I guess it depends on the field.

Top
#19986 - 07/13/08 10:51 AM Re: School Decision Time [Re: Dazed&Confuzed]
squirt Offline
Member

Registered: 03/31/08
Posts: 192
Loc: North to Alaska! Back 8/23
Well, for what's it's worth, I was a Computer Science major with a Math Minor!!

Top
Page 4 of 5 < 1 2 3 4 5 >


Moderator:  Mark Dlugosz 
August
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Recent Posts
8 year old computer programmer
by XCricketX
Yesterday at 10:21 PM
Camps/Programs
by Ania
Yesterday at 08:53 PM
Movies about gifted
by Ania
Yesterday at 08:48 PM
requesting help with math advocacy
by Kriston
Yesterday at 08:25 PM
First report on new school: good news
by Dottie
Yesterday at 08:16 PM