I’ve looked at the Common Core math approach. It is hard to explain in a few words how it differs from original math...estimating, rounding, assessing reasonableness of an answer, and breaking down the problem into smaller pieces...but as an example, adding 46+37 would be done by adding 40+30 and then 6+7, instead of the traditional addition bar, carry the 1, etc etc...using this method, you can easily solve the problem in your head.
This way of breaking the problem into pieces instead of slogging through the numbers is how I’ve done math my entire life. I prefer it, and it has worked very well for me - my profession is engineering.
So I like this method...and think its superior.
However - I have seen that for most kids, this method throws them into dizzied confusion. They would much rather have the boundaries of the ‘slog through the numbers’ method. So, my opinion is that 1st graders should be taught traditional math. And, if a student excels, around the 5th grade they can go to the common core style of estimating, rounding, assessing reasonableness of an answer, and breaking down the problem into smaller pieces.
Just my opinion.
Just my opinion.
And an insightful opinion it is....
However let me counter your example with an alternative problem from one of the instructional videos I reviewed. Subtract 1999 from 3000 using the traditional steps we were taught.
Now THAT is a recipe for error!
I've always been a firm traditionalist when it comes to teaching math. But a couple weeks ago, I asked an acquaintance [2nd grade teacher for some 20 years] what she thought of the so-called Common Core Math and was surprised by her response.
She raved about it. She can't believe the ease with which her students now manipulate large numbers. She also says it is more work for her but insists it's worth it. And, I suspect, that with her background, she is able to plug "holes" where the curriculum may be weak.
This is no air-head fresh out of ed school; and I've had to re-open my mind. I'm not convinced yet, but I'm listening.
I do it, too, and I was taught to do it when I was young. The difference is that I was taught to do it after I had a solid foundation in basic arithmetic.
Common core does not mandate the content of textbooks. The textbooks seem to emphasize shortcuts in order to get at alternative explanations for the principles. They de-emphasize the foundation in order to solve the problem. That’s great for people who understand math. It confuses people who don’t.
It also doesn’t help that a friend of mine taught at a university and observed, “Education majors are the stupidest people at the school, including the janitors.”
He showed me examples. :)