Project Diary

My Wall of Math

The last thing I did before I fell off the SAT cliff, was read Dr. Tahir Yagoob's book, What Can I Do to Help My Child with Math When I Don't Know Any Myself?

I consumed the entire book in BIG, voracious, eye gulps.

The title of this book suggests it's only for parents trying to help their kids with math -- and certainly, it is a must read for that reason alone.  However, the book goes way beyond the parent audience, to anyone who wants to learn tried and true study methods from an extremely smart man.

Dr. Yagoob's bio from Amazon:

"I am a researcher in astrophysics and an educator in math, physics, and astrophysics. I'm always looking for new ways to understand things, and have over a quarter of a century of experience in tutoring and mentoring math and physics across the entire academic range, from students at elementary school to those in Ph.D. programs. I have also trained postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers to become established scientists and professors in physics and astrophysics. I have published over a hundred research papers on astrophysical topics in peer-reviewed international journals and am a member of the editorial board of the international peer-reviewed journal ISRN Astronomy and Astrophysics. To inspire and be inspired are wonderful things and I have been inspired by various authors and their books ever since I can remember. Two people that stand out above the rest are Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan, who to this day are in my consciousness, continuously driving inspiration. If you are young and have never read anything by either of them, I highly recommend reading at least one book by them, even if it is outside your usual genre list. Even though some of their subject matter may be out-of-date, their style is timeless."

Next SAT is 5 days away.  I vacillate somewhere between denial and panic, while decorating my wall with math.

 
5 Comments | posted May 2nd, 2011
 
 
  • http://educationquicktakes.blogspot.com/ Grace

    It DOES "feel right". I believe the effectiveness of the writing part is supported by research, and having the information where you see it often has just got to be good for learning it.

    • http://www.perfectscoreproject.com Debbie Stier

      I know that when I write something down, I internalize it in a way that doesn't happen for me when I click on a computer keyboard. I can feel it in my bones.

      I still write out my calendar and to-do list every day because I find that WRITING works for me, even though everyone is always trying to get me to try this and that APP (which I do, but they don't work for me). I need to look into the research. If you come across any, please send my way.

      My daughter said to me the other day (having no idea about what I was thinking about the power of writing) that she did better on a history test than she's done all year, and she thinks it's because she started taking notes by hand, rather than on her laptop.

      And on a related note, one of the reasons I fell off the SAT map is because I attended a conference called Gel. I was so stressed out and didn't want to go and planned on leaving at lunch on the first day -- but then the first activity of the morning was "drawing," and the workshop was lead by a husband and wife team with a company called Zentangle http://zentangle.com/index.php . I spent 2 hours drawing with a beautiful pen on hand-made Italian paper -- and by the time I was done drawing, I was in a completely different zone, and decided I wanted to stay for the whole conference (which turned out to be the most amazing experience, by the way, and I bought tickets for next year for my kids also.).

      There is something very meditative and powerful about taking pen to paper.

  • http://educationquicktakes.blogspot.com/ Grace

    Check this out for links, mainly about cursive handwriting I believe.

    "Although the repetitive drills that accompany handwwriting lessons seem outdated, such physical instruction will help students to succeed. He says these activities stimulate brain activity, lead to increased language fluency, and aid in the development of important knowledge."

    http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/04/handwriting-is-a-21st-century-skill/237998/

  • Pingback: Handwriting and Learning | Perfect Score Project

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