When someone says “gifted child”, a picture springs to most people’s minds of a child who always does well in school, who finds all topics easy to understand – a dream student. It did for me. I attended a talk a while back that shattered this misconception.
Archive for the ‘Education’ Category
State Of The Union 2011
27
Jan
Although I didn’t listen to Obama’s “state of the union” address, I happened upon the transcript and started flipping through it. There’s a lot of encouraging stuff about science and math education.
Another Way To Teach Fraction Division
16
Jan
The classic way to teach fraction division is like this. To work out, say,
we ‘turn the second fraction upside-down’, to get
and then the division question becomes a multiplication question.
Creative Chemistry Teaching
14
Jan
I’m always impressed by creative teaching ideas. Here’s one I encountered the other day, for chemistry.
Extelligence
18
Nov
I learned a new word the other day. “Extelligence”. If intelligence is the ability to use the knowledge inside our minds, then extelligence is the ability to use the knowledge that resides outside individual human minds. I’ll give some examples of extelligence below.
Science Education And Political Choices
15
Oct
At lunch the other day, there were some magazines on the table. I picked one up, turned to a random page, and a particular phrase caught my eye – in essence, the writer was saying that they don’t believe we should give scientists a blank check, and a carte blanche to do whatever research takes their fancy. He seemed to imply that some scientists say that we should. I don’t know if any scientists actually do say that, however, it raises an important question. Who, ideally, should decide what scientists should work on, and how much money they should get?
Read the rest of this entry »
Estimation and Logic
12
Oct
Someone asked me recently if I had any tips on teaching “estimation with friendly numbers”. I had to admit that I don’t have a magical tip that would instantly help – I’ve struggled to get the same concept through to my own son, after all! However, while framing my reply, it occurred to me why estimation might be difficult for a child who is otherwise good at math.
A Mother and Her Autistic Daughter
13
Aug
I’ve been exchanging emails with a mother of an autistic child. Her name is Penny, and she has a blog of her own, about how she tries to teach her autistic daughter. The technique she is using seems to work – her daughter, now 11, is slowly catching up with other more “normal” kids, in terms of academic skills.
Teaching Autistic Children
04
Aug
I occasionally get emails from people asking “do you have any tips on how to teach math to my autistic son/daughter?” These queries leave me torn – I can’t help but want to help, but I have no experience with autism.
The Mouse-Eating Geniuses of Bihar
16
Jul
The Mushar people are amongst the poorest of the world’s poor. If you search the web, you’ll find descriptions of these people that range from encyclopaedic to heartbreaking. Their problem is not just that they are poor. They also live in the poorest state in India. Worst of all, they are considered “untouchables” in the Hindu caste system.
