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- From: uejiowh@dssv01.crd.ge.com (W. H. Uejio)
- Newsgroups: sci.math,misc.education
- Subject: Re: Is Math Hard?
- Message-ID: <1992Nov12.183934.2822@crd.ge.com>
- Date: 12 Nov 92 18:39:34 GMT
- References: <1992Nov10.004159.29572@news.Hawaii.Edu> <7NOV199220215368@cycvax.nscl.msu.edu> <ccDyTB3w164w@allen.com> <00721449615@elgamy.uucp.taronga.com>
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- Organization: GE R&D, DICE Program
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-
- My daughter's fourth grade class (she is a student) has a very
- good integrated course plan. The teacher, IMHO, has done a great
- job of integrating multiple subjects into a single theme which
- makes the students understand, learn, and problem solve.
-
- The major topic is the State of New York. He built a huge topographical
- map of New York. They started by seeing how the ice age (history and
- science) created certain lakes, rivers, mountains, etc. They calculated
- how much material was moved over time (math).
-
- He also broke up the class into the regional voting sections, similar
- to the state legislature and have them proposing and voting on things.
- They now see how the City of New York affects them, even though
- they are 150 miles away. (New York City voted to have a hazardous waste
- dump in upper New York).
-
- Later in the year, he will have the map contain the forest (he will include
- the Indians and Colonial period etc.) and the
- loss of forest with the re-growth in the 1930's. He also will have the
- children, after an electricity course in science wire the map showing how
- the water and power from the entire state is sent to the City.
-
- As part of this, there will be the calculation of the amount of water,
- power, and losses involved in supporting New York city.
-
- My daughter is finding it interesting and is far more interested
- in current events because of this. She was always a good math student
- but now is starting to understand some applied math also.
-
- Wayne Uejio General Electric CRD Disclaimer: opinions
- uejiowh@crd.ge.com KWC-275 expressed are my own
- Office: 518-387-6441 P.O. Box 8 and not the company's
- Fax: 518-387-7080 Schenectady NY 12301 opinion
-