Intel Math - a course for K-8 math teachers

I just found out about this and I do find it interesting: Intel is committing a large sum of money to train K-8 teachers to teach math. They're planning to train 100,000 math and science teachers.

Now, this "Intel Math" course is not about computers or technology; it really is about math. According to the flyer,

"Intel Math is an eighty-hour course for K-8 teachers who teach math. The course is co-facilitated by a practicing mathematician and a math educator. The emphasis is on teachers deepening their understanding of math. Intel Math examines the arithmetic, geometric and algebraic aspects of: operations, number theory, place value, rates, rational numbers, linear equations and functions through problem solving."

This course will be available at no cost to school districts. It is part of president Obama's "Educate to Innovate" campaign (see press release). A bit more information is found at www.inspiredbyeducation.com.

That is a step in the right direction. I have always felt that the BEST step to improve the state of math education in schools is to improve the teachers' knowledge of math, and not just to write new curricula or new standards. Those can help too, I'm not saying they won't. But a good teacher can override the influence of a mediocre curriculum - and a teacher that doesn't know math can make a good math curriculum go to waste.

Hat Tip goes to Wild About Math blog.

Choosing a homeschool math curriculum

At this time of year there are traditionally many people who are just starting to homeschool that might be looking for a math program for your homeschool. I'd like to feature the Homeschool Math Curriculum Guide at HomeschoolMath.net to help all of you who are trying to find a math curriculum for homeschooling.

This guide contains:

1. Articles on curriculum issues; such as "Choosing a homeschool math curriculum";
   
   
2. Lists of cheap or free math curriculum resources;
   
   
3. Lots and lots of reviews of all popular homeschool math curricula that visitors to my site have left over the past six years.

You are also welcome to leave a review of any curricula you have used in the past, and that way help others to decide.

Just head on over to the Homeschool Math Curriculum Guide to find all these resources!

Multiplying decimals by decimals

To multiply decimals, we are told to multiply as if there were no decimal points, and then make the answer have as many decimal digits as there are decimal digits in the factors.

In the video below, I compare multiplying decimals by decimals to fraction multiplication:

Multiply decimals by decimals

Do you know where this rule or "shortcut" comes from?

It comes from fraction multiplication. For example, 1.1 × 0.005 becomes (11/10) × (5/1000) when it is written with fractions. One decimal digit means the denominator is 10. Three decimals means the denominator is 1,000.

When you multiply the fractions, you get 55/10,000. Ten thousand as a denominator means the corresponding decimal has four decimal digits. So, the answer is 0.0055.

If you are a teacher, you can approach the rule for decimal multiplication by starting out with fractions, and using examples like the one above or the ones in the video to show students where the rule comes from.