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Keep Them Guessing
January 31, 2012
It's difficult to unlearn behaviors that made us successful in the past — speaking rather than listening; valuing people like yourself over people of different genders or from different cultures; doing things on your own rather than collaborating; making the decision yourself instead of asking different people for their perspectives. There's a whole range of behaviors that were highly functional in the hierarchical organization that are dead wrong in the flatter, more responsive, empowered organization that we're seeking to become.
-Robert Haas
Young people today when confronted with a question are most likely to use the "let-me-Google-that" approach to seeking an answer.  However, according to researchers interviewed for an article, "Good Guess," in Time magazine (December 12, 2011), estimation is the essential foundation for more advanced math skills.  "It's also crucial for the kind of abstract thinking children need to get good grades in school and, when they're older, jobs in the knowledge-based economy." 

The researchers also noted that everyone, even a baby, possesses a basic ability to estimate.  But children from the earliest ages need to be encouraged to hone these estimating skills. 

"One of the surprising ways to get kids thinking about numbers is to play board games with them.  Flicking the spinner or rolling the dice and then counting out the spaces to move ahead on the board helps children adjust the number line that they carry around in their heads."

In a book to be released in June, 2012,  Numbersight: A Street-Fighting Mathematician Teaches How to Make Better Decisions (pre-ordering available on Amazon), Sanjoy Mahajan will describe ways to promote estimating skills and "to make sense of the world by connecting, organizing, and simplifying the numbers that describe it."








A must-have resource for presenting mathematics to young children as a way of thinking through practical, hands-on experiences. This inspiring collection offers you a wealth of powerful insights and ideas.

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Comments (1)

Displaying 1 Comment
Dr. Dale McManis · February 01, 2012
Hatch Early Childhood
Winston Salem, NC, United States


I agree that young children are drawn to mathematics, but get very little exposure in preschool and kindergarten which negatively impacts later math success according to the The National Research Council’s Committee on Early Childhood Mathematics 2009 report Mathematics Learning in Early Childhood: Paths Toward Excellence and Equity. Using Google can strengthen 21st century skills in thinking about one’s question to formulate a good search and then evaluating the quality of that information. However, equating math estimation skills with “Let me Google that” doesn’t really fit together for me because I don’t see that devising a query on a search engine would be one that is chosen for this particular skill. Both mathematics and information literacy are however areas we need to begin bringing to children when they are early learners. http://blog.hatchearlychildhood.com/equating-math-estimation-skills/



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