Chapter 12 and 13

Kids should be allowed to break stuff more often.

That's a consequence of exploration.
Exploration is what you do when you don't know what you're doing. Neil
deGrasse Tyson

In regards to education, there is nothing more powerful to one

that is self-driven. Students should be given opportunities everyday to
explore their own knowledge. The two chapters for todays reflection
highlights this very idea, that in mathematics, we should encourage
students to develop their own reasoning skills while carrying out
computations.
The fact is that it is crucial for students to develop
computational fluency, which concerns itself with the more mental side
to mathematics. As adults, we use mental computation over the
tradition paper and pencil calculation in our daily lives. At the grocery
store we compare products using estimation, things of this nature;
thus, educators need to emphasize on expanding this understanding.
At first, it may seem counterintuitive to students, since standard
algorithmic math aims at arriving at a right conclusion. Estimation
works towards a greater cause, that is, increasing ones number sense.
For example, a grade 4 teacher could provide a chart of two-digit to
one-digit multiplication/division calculations where students have to
estimate their answer, and then afterwards provide reasoning why
there estimation was either good or poor. In life we often mistype, or

commit to calculator folly, therefore, we should learn to rely on

ourselves rather than machines. Estimation techniques help improve
overall mental math capabilities.
Student generated strategies can be utilized in either
addition/subtraction or multiplication/division. Student generated
strategies encourage students to develop their own approaches and
provide confidence in their own abilities through classroom discussion.
Furthermore, student strategies are often number, rather than digit,
orientated, begin with the largest part of numbers, and promote
flexibility in doing mathematics. This will result in students making
less errors, less time spent reteaching students, increasing an
understanding of number sense and mental computation, and, most
importantly, is significant to the student. In order to achieve this,
educators need to show students all the different types of strategies in
solving problems. The list of strategies for each basic operation is
endless! Provide multiple approaches to students to develop their own
unique strategy.
One example in the text I really enjoyed was this question: If you
have 35 sleds, and there is 12 dogs per sled, how many dogs do you
have? The teacher had each student show their work and how they
were able to solve it. Each student had his or her own unique and
genuine approach to the question, however, I would take it a step
further. I would instruct students to say what technique they used, and

why they chose that particular way. This would force students to
develop their own reasoning with their mathematical skills.
One technique I found completely, and totally cool, yet foreign to
me was the idea of Halving and Doubling in multiplication and
division. I have never seen this approach, and it even took me a
couple of reads just to understand it. For example, the problem, 27 x
4, could be broken down into: 30 x 4 (3 x 4), to arrive at the same
conclusion. Reducing or adding a number to 10 or 5 can be easily
computed in ones head. Using this technique, one could calculate any
equation in ones mind, I love it! I found every strategy in these
chapters to be interesting yet very different. When I was a student
there was always one right way to each of the four basic operations,
though, I now know this cannot be true. I think this will be one of the
more challenging aspects to teaching mathematics, trying to break my
old habits. Although, the standard algorithm way achieves correct
results, it does not best prepare students for life or increase their own
reasoning and mental abilities.