Elementary School Mathematics

[Quelloquialism]

[hhhsmath06]

i once saw a 4th grade ns test when i was a junior, contrary to wut u observed on the math, the ns test was amazingly well-designed (and quite difficult)...in my opinion, ns should be a elementary/middle school level event...once u get to hs ns becomes less meaningful...wut high school math competitions need is not arithmatic tricks...highschool-level competitions need prove-based problems...

i love ns, but, it's pretty pointless.

q

[stupidityismygam]

[hhhsmath06]

addendum:

b4 a feverent person throws rock @ me, i have to say that no one can deny how much ns improves an individual's arithmetics. AND that's my point, elementary/middle school (esp. elementary) math focuses on arithmetics, and good arithmetics is one of the most fundatmental skills in math, imagine how can someone go through a prove without a solid background in manipulating numbers! Therefore, NS, in MY OPINION, is absolutely ideal for elementary level competitions, because it help kids build a strong foundation for math. HOWEVER, hs and college math are (or should be) more analytical, conceptial, and abstract than elementary level math. Therefore, ns is practically pointless because it involves nothing but arithmetics and memorizations (which are supposed to be mastered already back in ms and es), and these do not help a person become a mathematician. Again, different grade levels need different style tests that build a person's knowledge layer by layer...just like you don't see a completely ripped body builder lifting 1-lb dumbbells everyday, ns doesn't suit hs all that well...

again, with that said, i love ns to death...

q

[AuSmith]

Numbersense arithmetic often uses ideas meant to get you thinking past just arithmetic. Perhaps it tries to increase your intimacy with numbers. I see people that have been around mathematics for ages and they don't know much about their number system (some mathematics doesn't care). Numbersense is like advanced arithmetic. Which, is not as popular anymore in this sad calculator age.

[MistaPotta]

Having competed at the middle and high school, and now a coach, I found that number sense in middle school was memorizing formulas that worked, learning to apply certain tricks to certain problems. The test then was a categorization test, much like the elementary school test you posted (what is "even?", what is "inch-long?")

In high school, you learn that every "trick" has a foundation in algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus. You learn how to develop your own tricks. In fact, the more successful students are those who can weave a trick on the fly. They can do this because they not only have a strong foundation in the basic understanding of numbers (hence, number sense) but an understanding of the laws of the maths (to coin a British term, maths as in more than one math course.) A "new" problem doesn't stop them for long, nor does a slight twist of a known established "trick" because they understand the math behind the "tricks."

Now calculator, there's a useless contest... ;P

~MP

[hhhsmath06]

"Having competed at the middle and high school, and now a coach, I found that number sense in middle school was memorizing formulas that worked, learning to apply certain tricks to certain problems."

if that's the case, then i think middle school ns is missing the point, because the intent of ns shouldn't just be memorizing formulas or learning to apply certain tricks to certain problems. The purpose of ns, i believe, is what aaron said, to increase our intimacy with numbers (by understanding why tricks are what they are). It shouldn't take a student who is enrolled hs ns to start to come to the enlightenment that every trick has a foundation in algebra, they should've known that back in elementary or middle school ns contest.

q

[mathslug]

Well, its hard to expect middle schoolers to be able to operate at a HS level. Middle school NS builds alot of the pattern recognition and cognitive processes that must be heavily ingrained into a competitor by the time they reach HS. Now, I don't think that middle school NS or elementary NS is entirely unneccesary mostly because it immerses competitors into the world of number sense. You have to start somewhere. You cant just throw kids into the deep end and expect them to swim, no. You have to start them out on questions that they can do so that they become intrigued. The more MS tests they do, the faster they get at mastering the fundementals. HS tests are loaded with fundemental NS stuff, but in levels.

I kinda wish that I did NS in middle school, so that I wouldn't have had to spend a year catching up to everyone else.

I agree with Mr. Potter about calculator though. I always feel like I dont really accomplish anything in taking calculator tests. Even the stated problems feel repetitive. I do like the harder geometry problems though.

Zack

[bradp]

Don't be a bunch of downers.
There's nothing wrong with Number Sense...





All it needs is more hot girls.

[hhhsmath06]

[AuSmith]

The calculator contest really helped me improve my problem solving ability in junior high, but after that, there really wasn't anything more to be gained. General math was the same way, except you there weren't any wondrously useless number punches.