The
article, When Will We Ever Use Math in Real Life? by Jennifer
Ware and Sarah Stein, shows students how mathematics can be applied to real
life situations. By interviewing various professionals from STEM (Sciences,
Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers, students are able to see how
what they are learning can help them get a career. At the beginning of a
lesson, students see a three to four minute video from a professional that
tells them how this applies to their job. It was found that students who had
little interest in math were actually more interested in what they were
learning and were showing interests in the careers as well. Examples of videos
include how an architect uses solid geometric shape to form the structure of
the house or how a technologist uses light and angles of light to create
brighter cell phone displays.
I think that showing students how what they are learning in the
classroom is applicable in the real world is a great idea. By showing these
types of videos we can help inspire students to have a career in STEM. Those
are fields that are always in demand and are crucial in order for advancement
of our society. The videos are also a nice idea because they can be accessed by
multiple audiences and schools don't have to worry about working out a schedule
for when the guest speaker can come in. From this we can see videos from a
large variety of different jobs that a student might not get to learn about and
inspire students to pursue higher math leveled careers. There are many students
who have an aversion to math; is it possible that these videos can help change
how students feel about math? This article does not really address any of
NETS-S.
Ware, Jennifer., & Stein, Sarah. (2012).
When Will We Ever Use Math in Real Life?. Learning
& Leading With Technology, 34-35.
I know that when students are in a classroom they often ask when they are going to use these lessons in "real" life. If students were to see how they can use math, or any other subjects, in their careers then they would most likely be more engaged in their work. Great choice of article, Amber.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome! I hardly every hear any kid say "Math is my favorite!" Coming from someone who enjoys math, I think this is a great idea to have in the classroom to motivate students to pursue professions in the math and science field. I find too that videos are helpful especially when a professional shows and explains how math applies to their job and life in general.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this! Math is a subject for students to get easily discouraged when it doesn't come so easily. I think this article is important because it is our duty as educators to keep students interested in all subjects. In this case the teachers were able to motivate their students by showing examples of real world applications of math. Such a great idea
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