“Change them signs, two at a time . . . Change them signs, two
at a time,” Ms. Collins’ Georgia drawl echoed off the concrete walls as she walked
up and down the isles of her algebra class. She bent over James’ left shoulder as she squinted at his ciphering through her
wire-rimmed glasses. Suddenly, she jumped back, pointed at his
paper and said, “Boy, I told you.“ She began pounding rhythmically with both
hands on his shoulders. “Change them signs, to at a time . . . Change them signs,
two at a time.” The students behind them suppressed their snickers as James’
face turned beet red.
In 1966, Ms. Collins, a legendary spinster, was Marion High
School’s most eccentric teacher.
No one crossed paths with Ms. Collins, nor failed to do her homework,
nor willingly offered a solution to an algebra problem (except of Mason the Bully).
Her poundings on boys’ backs were more embarrassing than
painful. But then there was her
ruler. If the back-pounding didn’t
get a boy’s attention, she might grab a hand, turn it palm up with fingers bent
backwards and rap the exposed palm with her ruler. That hurt.
One day she approached Wally Childers and raised her hands
to commence pounding. Wally was a
big guy, one of the tallest in the class, head and shoulders taller than Ms.
Collins. Just as she got to him, he jumped up, flew over his desk and jumped an
empty desk between himself in the door.
He was gone in a split second, never again to attend Ms. Collins
algebra class.
She was an intimidating teacher who knew the textbook
forwards and backwards. Rumor had
it that she was math whiz, that she could calculate the cost of her groceries
faster than the cash register, but her instruction was strict and un-inspiring
– strictly limited to solving the equations and proofs by the book. If the book’s instruction was not enough
for a student, Ms. Collins could only resort to her chants and threats. Though I was an
A/B algebra student, the point of the mathematical abstractions was
missed. The point of being in her
class was simply to be correct and avoid getting embarrassed.
I would like to think that math instruction for high school
students has changed over the past forty years. In all likelihood, few math
teachers are physically beating algebra into their students; but they are still
struggling to make math relevant and interesting to students, and few of them
can offer much more than the explanations already present in the textbooks.
Fortunately, any modern day student with access to a
computer has an alternative teacher.
His name is Sal Kahn. Eight
years ago, Kahn offered online math tutoring to his younger cousin. His lessons were highly successful. When
he got more requests for tutoring, he began posting them on YouTube. Now, there are over 2000 of his lessons
on-line, each of them getting at least 20,000 hits. In 2009, Kahn quit his job as a hedge fund analyst and devoted
himself full-time to developing his YouTube channel. With support from outside
sources (including Bill Gates), Kahn and his high-tech employees are developing
Kahn Academy as a web site that ties together his YouTube videos with practice
activities and record keeping systems that allow any student or teacher to use
the resources free of charge.
His use of technology is relatively simple – video screen
capture of his desktop, a drawing program, and a microphone to capture his
voice. His explanations are
systematic, clear and precise. In
terms of method, his explanations of a math concept and process are coupled
with careful descriptions of the logic. But, since the lessons are on-line, the
learner can listen to them repeatedly if necessary without risking teacher
frustration or wrath. With the
additional use of the practice activities, the learner can check his accuracy
and understanding. The record keeping system tracks performance and offers
token rewards.
To get an idea of how Kahn applies his teaching method with
the on-line technology, go to this link that shows his most basic lesson –
simple addition: http://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic/addition-subtraction/v/basic-addition
Now, compare the simple addition lesson above to one of
Kahn’s basic algebra lesson, solving simple equations: http://www.khanacademy.org/math/algebra/solving-linear-equations/v/solving-one-step-equations
If you have read some of my previous blogs, you know how
skeptical I am of the value of schooling.
There many reasons for that skepticism, most of which have to do with
the inconsistent quality of the instruction, the difficulty of providing
instruction that matches each student’s ability to learn, and the lack of
support for schools from families and communities.
There is a 20 year-old argument over how technology is going
to change schooling. The Kahn
Academy is a good example of how it might. Via the internet, the clear and inspiring instruction of one
lone teacher can reach any student, any time. That’s not to suggest that millions
of students suffer through poor teaching can simply walk away from school and
get what they miss on-line. After
all, the face-to-face human element of good teaching cannot be easily
duplicated on-line. I won’t live long enough to collect on this bet, but I will
wager you that 50 years from now, thanks to technology, schooling probably won’t look anything like
it does today.
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