Erlwanger attempts to show that IPI was a system designed to allow students to learn math on their own without the aid of a teacher or discussion with others, and that it failed miserably. The card system allowed each student to work at their own pace. As long as the student was passing the assessment tests each time there was no need to discuss any of the material with anyone else. Benny was doing well and was ahead of most his class. Because of this he never talked to his teacher about his ideas of math. When Erlwanger spoke to him he discovered that because Benny had been working on his own he had invented a million rules about math that had no reasoning behind them except that they sometimes got him right answers on the assessments.
Even today there are classrooms where there is very little teacher student discussion. As long as a student can do well on tests it is assumed they know what they are doing and there is no need for the teacher to interact with them. I think it is important that as I get ready to become a math teacher that I am worried about the individual learner. A teacher needs to know more than what sort of grades their students are achieving. Teachers and students need to build relationships.
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Your description of Erlwanger's main point and argument does a nice job of capturing many of the important ideas in the paper. You also have a very nice logical flow in your presentation of his argument, which makes it easy to read and understand.
ReplyDeleteI think that you paragraph might be even better if the topic sentence had been a little clearer about the content of the paragraph. For example, the paragraph does not prove that Erlwanger was trying to show that IPI "was a system designed to allow students to learn math on their own." This is actually one of the things Erlwanger assumed. I'm guessing that the purpose of this statement in the first sentence was actually to define IPI. This definition would probably fit better as a second sentence in the paragraph. Then the first sentence would have room to say why IPI failed miserably, which is what the paragraph is about.
I agree that student teacher relationships are not always as strong as they could be. Some teachers do not care about their students' learning. This can cause students to be timid about asking the teacher for help when needed. You did very well establishing your thoughts and argument. However, I think your argument could be stronger if you built on it a little more, maybe by giving a way that teachers and students can build stronger relationships.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments completely. I really liked the examples you gave in your first paragraph and also how you connected them with examples and ideas in your second paragraph. I also found it interesting and good how you gave an example of what you want to work on or do when you become a teacher. I found it very strong to add that in your second paragraph. And honestly, I'm not sure what I can say about changing your paragraphs. I thought you did a very good job and found the paragraphs to be strong and something I agree with.
ReplyDeleteI can see how your second paragraph relates to your first. You make a very valid point when you talked about students taking tests. Good argument
ReplyDeleteI'm curious how you expect teachers to make sure each individual keeps up will what is being taught and also have enough time to make sure the class keeps up will the curriculum.