The last few episodes of the Math Dude: Quick and Dirty Tips to Make Math Easier podcasts I have been listening to are all about multiplication. Just as the last few episodes were in this podcast, this multiplication section all lined up with each other. I listened to one that introduced the basic concepts of multiplication, one that discussed multiplying double digits, and one that debated whether or not multiplication can be considered repeated addition. The podcasts talk about making multiplication more interesting because you can use a lot of visual representations and non-traditional techniques when multiplying. For example, a “Ken Ken” puzzle. Click here to see a video on how to use a Ken Ken puzzle.
The most interesting of the podcasts was the one that debated whether or not multiplication could be considered repeated addition. I knew from past podcasts that the narrator likes to make math fun but also likes to make you think. This section was initially a little confusing. He gives detailed explanations on how the statement, “multiplication is repeated addition,” could be true. He even gives examples of simple problems such as 3 x 2. He makes the problem interesting because he explains how people typically view this problem, 3 is the quantity of 2, 3 times. In other words, this is 2 + 2 + 2. When this discussion is over, you are convinced that the answer to this debate is that multiplication is in fact repeated addition. However, he throws you a curve ball when he starts discussing a column he read called, “It Ain’t No Repeated Addition.,” by Keith Devlin. He settles the listeners confusion at the end with saying that this is truly an unsettled debate. The importance is that you are able to use the tool of multiplication while doing math.
In the most recent episodes of Science: New Teacher Survival Guide, there are guest speakers along with the narrator which I found interesting. In some episodes there is a woman who is the county’s early childhood specialist. In many of the episodes there is a woman who she considers an expert in science education. She records these podcasts almost as an interview with them but also adds to their ideas.
The main idea of the last few episodes has been about Science as Inquiry in the elementary level classroom. They began this series of episodes by emphasizing how beneficial this podcast could be to teachers who think that teaching science is out of their league. The goal of these episodes is to increase confidence in these teachers.
One topic discussed throughout an entire podcast is simply why it is so important to incorporate science into the elementary classroom. The elementary specialist talks about how important science truly is to the children’s lives. She talks about how when children are exposed to new things, science will be what gives them a basic understanding of our complex world and will give the children the skills they need to explore it. Making sure that students have these skills young will make their future in science education much smoother.
The most repeated topic throughout these podcasts is teaching inquiry based science. The science expert talks about how students will be more engaged, develop better language, and develop better social skills, simply if they are exposed to inquiry based learning. She discusses how it is natural for children to be curious and this sort of learning will cater to that.
The most important podcast I thought was specifically about how to do inquiry based learning in your classroom. They talk about how in order to run your classroom this way, teachers need to view themselves as a supporter who finds opportunities for learning rather than a giver of information. The teachers job in this sort of classroom is to feed to students curiosity and to give them the skills they need to search for answers. An awesome resource that this podcast gave is called Net Frog. This program allows students to virtually dissect either a earth worm, frog, sheep brain, cat, fetal pig, or cow eye. This is a way to do inquiry based learning even if your school does not provide the resources.
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