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reading numbers
Posted:
Jun 20, 1995 2:42 PM
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If you can stand it, here's one more point on the reading numbers
issue. All of this talk has made me wonder about what those symbols
(a dot, a four, and a five) really mean. The fact that we always assume
base ten jumped unbidden into my head. The real way to say it might be
"radix point 4 5 base ten". Now, I am not suggesting that we teach it to
kids this way, just a) noticing an interesting aspect of this discussion
and b) reiterating that there must be some balance between convenience and
conceptual correctness.
It also might be a fun thing to think about what .45 is base six, for
example. Maybe some students would get a "bigger picture" of what the
radix point means if they could see what it meant with other bases.
And as long as I'm dreaming, I'll just go ahead and pretend we have the time
to go off and explore things like this with students...
Actually, concerning that point, how many of you teachers feel like the
number of subjects you are supposed to "cover" inhibits the time you have
for exploring? Is this something that should be considered in education
reform?
mike
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