Posted by alexandra_k on January 23, 2014, at 16:40:05
In reply to Re: got tested..., posted by alexandra_k on January 22, 2014, at 18:59:54
I think the issue is that I'm just learning the vocabulary. And the meanings are... Abstract. So a little bit tricky to grasp.
I do have some math knowledge that is rote memorization learned, without any meaning attached. I can just fire off that 3x7 is 21, 3x8 is 24 and 3x9 is 27. Not sure how or when I managed to get those sunk in there... But I got it into my head that that was what it was all about. Having a bunch of math facts memorized in there that could be instantly recalled.
But that strategy is error prone. At least, it seems to me to be. And... It is fragile. In the sense that there are an infinite number of facts... So it will only get you so far...
I can do some kind of visualisation or... recombination or... something like that. Instead of wracking my brain for what 4x6 might be and seeing what occurs to me... Trying to ram it in there via repetition... The way I thought it was supposed to be learned... Thinking that one lot = 6... and I already know that 2 lots = 12. And so two lots of 12 is equal to... Ta da. Then, just to make sure, I know that the answer should be equal to 4x5 which I"m pretty sure I remember well... And another four. So yeah, fairly sure I got that right.
Maybe that is the idea. The more different ways you have of checking... The more likely your ways converge on truth. And it is better to see than to memorise... Then over time you see faster / what is seen becomes more automatic.
It is like the meanings fell out for the test. And all I had was a bunch of fragile rules to try and apply. Like moving the decimal place to the right how many zeroes there were instead of thinking about little cubes making rectangles making cubes making rectangles...
I like math. I don't know that I'll be at the level that I need to be in the time that I have. But, well, I suppose I have all the time there is, really. Yay for disability benefits. I guess.
I think I need to split my time between working skills I need to work (like my tables, obviously). And progressing my way through the grades. It is getting pretty painful now -- because my times tables aren't really good enough, I'm starting to see. I am really tempted to jump ahead with stuff... I would like to do more stats and some of the other stuff I find easy... But I guess it is more important to get some of this right... I don't feel very confident at reducing fractions, either. Because of finding the greatest... Uh... Number that can divide both. Divisor?? And I need to learn the rules for when things are divisible by 9 and so on... Because some of those numbers are getting pretty large...
poster:alexandra_k
thread:1058481
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20140102/msgs/1059355.html