Life Equations

Lisa Heitin
Life Equations: Renowned educator Dan Meyers encourages teachers to drop the textbooks and teach students math that's all around them.
Published Online: April 4, 2011
Education Week Teacher pd Sourcebook
Complete URL: http://www.edweek.org/tsb/articles/2011/04/04/02meyer.h04.html?cmp=ENL-TU-NEWS1

Dan Meyers tried teaching math according to the textbook and found it "disastrous". He began to recognize "a fundamental difference between the way the textbook presented a problem and the way he might solve a problem in his own life." He compares it to film - and does it much better then I could.

“The first act is punchy,” he explains. “You can summarize the premise of every blockbuster movie in a sentence. ‘Shark terrorizes seaside town,’ that sort of thing.” In a math problem, the premise is a question, such as, “How long will it take me to get to Los Angeles?”

During what he calls the “second act” of a film, the characters encounter obstacles and find out what they need to do. In a math problem, the second act involves measuring, determining a formula, or finding out what information is missing.

In the conclusion of a film, the plot reaches a climax and the conflict is resolved. The same goes for a math problem. And in both film and a problem, there’s also a chance to set up a sequel, or extensions, he explains."

The intended audience for this article is practitioners. It is relevant to teachers of all subjects and levels. He does an excellent job of contextualizing.

I also included his video! Enjoy!