Feb
14
Further Reflections of the Jasper Series
Posted by: flick | February 14, 2012 | Leave a Comment
The Jasper Series certainly provided for lively and varied discussion this past week.
C.A. themed his discussion thread around improving the Jasper Series and D.B. suggested in her thread that the series was in need of modernization. The improvements that are required of the Jasper Series are superficial. The Jasper Series was, is, will be of importance because it provides an example of concept building through authentic problem solving. It has been twenty plus years now that the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics have been calling for learning opportunities such as those provided by the Jasper Series. Yet . . . . still the Jasper Series with its 1980’s fashions and hair styles is ahead of its time. Many teachers in today’s classrooms continue to teach using pedagogically outdated methods. They may be using “current” resources but they are using the new resources in old ways.
Without thought to and provision for teacher learning, unlearning, and relearning, resources such as the Jasper Series will only be used with good purpose by a few. Technology used to recreate ineffective and outdated teaching methods is of little use. Math resources used with outdated teaching methods and teaching methods are of little use.
Frequently the conversation this week, because it was as much about math as it was about the Jasper Series, contained the typical relational understanding versus instrumental understanding discussions. Tiring.
Page 16 – Reflections on Research in School Mathematics
Relational Understanding
· Conceptually based
· Knowing both “how” and “why”
· Acquired by sense-making
· Interconnected knowledge
· Easier to remember
· Involves fewer principles of more general application
· Flexible, more adaptable to new tasks
Instrumental Understanding
· Rule-based
· Knowing “how” but not “why”
· Acquired by rote
· Isolated knowledge
· Harder to remember
· Involves a multiplicity of rules
· Inflexible, not readily adaptable to new tasks
I apologize for sounding cranky but this past week or so I must have written ten posts that I deleted due to fear that my terse wording and obvious annoyance would be offensive to some. Our discussions on the Jasper Series should have been less about laser discs, forwarding and rewinding capabilities, numbers of classroom computers but more about how technology might finally be the catalyst that has profound effect on how mathematical concepts are learned and deep understanding demonstrated. In the 21st Century we no longer require individuals who are capable of multitudes of lengthy calculations we need individuals who can problem solve and demonstrate numerical creativity. Wow! The creators of the Jasper Series understood this thirty years ago. Are they as cranky now as I am?
Happy Valentine’s Day. I am just not feeling the love.