It seems very interesting, and seems to bring math to life. However, i'm a little concerned that the manipulatives make things more confusing rather than clearer. For example, he showed how when we multiply two numbers we are creating a rectangle. He domonstrated this with the manipulatives. He also showed through manipulatives how to find the factors. I think it might be confusing for a child to think of multiplication as building rectangles. I think perhaps it is better, and more clear, to concentrate on teaching that multiplication is about figuring out how much money you need to buy 4 of something that each cost x price- not about building rectangles. There are other examples i can give with the way other things were presented, that i felt were very interesting but was concerned that it might confuse rather than clarify.
Any comments?
Answers:
I haven't seen the demo, but that is one of the good things about the program - he teaches math in a different way. I believe all he's saying is that multiplication is "fast adding" - adding 3 groups of 4, or 4+4+4. There is no reason you can't teach both his method AND the method you may be more familiar with. My personal feeling is, the more ways I can explain it, the better chance that one of those ways will touch a nerve and sink in.
There are many approaches to teaching math. I chose not to use MUS because of the pace of presentation (my son craves things that move at the speed of sound). The methods they use to teach are excellent. They use a very open minded approach and encourage the student to think outside of the box...in this case triangles...lol! To someone who has already found their way to preform math it may seem confusing but it really is more enlightening than confusing.
If I'm remembering the manipulatives correctly, there are defined segments on them. When a child builds a rectangle, it's based on certain numbers of rows. So, if they are to make 3 x 2, they'll take 3 of the 2 rods and will see that there are 6 segments. It's really a way to show that 2 + 2 + 2 = 3 x 2 = 6. Of course, I haven't seen the demo so I could be way off! Rectangles made up of rows and columns of squares has been a common way of figuring out multiplication, while providing a visual component, for quite a while. It's also a bit of a preparation for figuring out area.
In general, the MUS program is highly recommended. I prefer to do my own thing than feel tied to a program and specfic materials. Do keep in mind that this program was initially designed to be a way for the creator to teach his Down Syndrome child, so it was done in the most visual, hands-on way possible. Many have thought it was based on Montessori yet he apparently didn't know anything about Montessori when he developed it. If your child isn't much of a visual, needing to touch kind of kid, then this program may not offer any particular advantage over another, but it's unlikely to confuse him/her.
We've used MUS for pre-alg, alg, and now geometry. I don't know how it is in the younger grades, but for upper-level math it is top notch. It is far clearer than other programs, and my kids are doing GREAT. They can't necessarily do the pages on their own after watching the DVD, but the teacher's manual is so clear to ME that I can easily teach this stuff.
This really depends on the child. My son used Math-U-See, and did fine with it...although the manipulatives did get confusing sometimes, and we ignored them for several of the lessons. Basically, if your child is a "touch" learner (brain fade this morning on learning styles!), then this may work for them very well.
One thing I would say is that I had to let go of my own understandings in order to use the product. What is being taught are geometric concepts for everything from basic math to algebra. Eventually, they use these squares to help understand polynomials, and to figure out complex equations. So, if your child learns well with feeling and handling items, as opposed to just getting it out of a book, then it ought to be just the ticket.
By the way, there was a lot in the text that didn't totally rely on the manipulatives, so that made the program better for us...we used them when it made sense to us, and when it didn't...we bypassed them. We did not have much trouble with it.
Has your child had a chance to get hands on with it at all?
Gor my younger dd math u see is great. She truly sees it. My older one finds it confusing. I think it depends on your child. Did your child watch the video? Thats what convinced me, my daughter watched the video and got it.
I was home schooled from K-7th grade, and used math-u-see for two or three years. Sometimes the videos, and him using the visuals really helped me, but there were times when it became confusing. With this curriculum you have to be prepared to take over and teach some lessons.yourself. I also felt sometimes that he complicated things. But I know some kids who absolutely thrived and loved math-u-see. If there is the possibility that your child may go to public school in the future, I recommend not using that curriculum, because they teach many things out of order from the public school curriculum. .(i.e I had already learned how to solve equations, but had never even seen a graph) It was very hard for me to adjust to the public schools way of teaching and the different vocabulary.
It really depends on how your child learns. I would borrow a math-u-see book that covers the thing he learned last year, and if he says," wow, I wish that's how my old book taught!" then use the curriculum.
I've homeschooled my boys since they were about 4. They're 9 & 10 now. We've gone through, it seems, all of the standard math programs. Saxon, Singapore, Horizon, The Right Start... I'm so glad we found Math-u-see! It's helped my kids visualize the problems they're working on. He does demonstrate by using the manipulatives and creating rectangles, but that's the beauty of each problem. They make a rectangle, or they can't be right. As long as you teach your child along with the dvd and make sure he understands each concept and is able to relate it back to you, I believe this is by far the best math program out there. I do recommend you get the manipulatives along with the books. They do really bring math to life.
Good luck with your decision!
This article contents is post by this website user, EduQnA.com doesn't promise its accuracy.
More Questions & Answers...