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I was interested in how differently long division is apparently taught here in Australia.
What's the difference?
Originally Posted by MumOfThree
22b when I was a child we were taught to write the zeros in and why they were there (and I have checked with age peers and they had the same experience). Infact I think I peraonally was first taught to start the problem by writing in the zeros that will be required on each line before starting calculations (highlighting that i was dealing with tens, hundreds, thousands and so on), and it was also later examined why leaving the zeros blank would not change the outcome. I am not sure but I THINK it was eventually allowable to leave blanks but one friend I asked was adamant that this was always frowned upon...
My DD is in 6th and has also been taught to write in zeros and why you need them...
This approach seems to completely cut through a lot of the problems, confusions and angst raised in the book.
Thanks for the explanation. I'd consider that just a cosmetic difference. The methods are almost identical.
Originally Posted by MumOfThree
Faddish example: our schools don't teach long division at all anymore, it got dropped from the curriculum for being irrelevant (or too hard?)
That's sad. They should at least present it and if just some kids get it, that's okay.
I know that the method for subtraction taught in the USA is ridiculous.
Originally Posted by Val
I'd be interested in learning about how subtraction is taught outside the US.
Originally Posted by Nautigal
What is the ridiculous method of subtraction referred to above? I can't recall seeing anything that seemed out of the ordinary, but then again I do tend to ignore my kids' math worksheets a lot.
There's an explanation here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtraction#The_teaching_of_subtraction_in_schools which contrasts the "American method" and the "Austrian (or European) method", the latter being the one which is taught in most countries around the world. The "American method" is unnecessarily more complicated, especially when there is a string of zeroes in the minuend.
Here are some YouTube videos of (various slight variations of) the "Austrian method"
I totally needed the video to make sense on that 22B. That is a much simpler way to write up the same concept. Oddly it seems vaguely familiar to me and yet it's not the primary method I remember from school.
You are right that the difference I mentioned in long multiplication is cosmetic, but given the issues raised in the book it's clearly a huge stumbling block for many children and there are many adults who get to adulthood possibly able to follow the procedure but with no comprehension of how/why in works (ie that you move over to the tens column because you are in fact multiplying by 10s now), which putting in the zeros explains (or forces to be explained).
Last edited by MumOfThree; 09/13/1312:11 AM. Reason: Spelling
I grew up learning the European method. When my stepson moved in with us in 6th grade and had trouble understanding a lot of math concepts, I tried to learn the methods his teachers were teaching but he still wouldn't get it so I gave up, showed him how I was taught math (not just subtraction but other problems too) and he understood them in no time. And I told him ... if your teacher has a problem with it, tell them to CALL ME! Thankfully they never called, but I was ready to defend our methods
Heh. I've asked 4 adults this afternoon how they to do subtraction with regrouping and got two versions of the Austrian method (a German friend and my DH who learned subtraction in New Zealand), and two versions more like the American system shown in the first video, though both slightly simpler than that one. Now to figure out whether to teach my DD the method our schools use or the Austrian method, which I find far superior.
Obviously she can learn both but I know I have always been resentful of being forced to do things in a less efficient way and I worry she'll be the same and simply refuse the method our schools use if she likes the Austrian. Which may obviously cause problems if she encounters any "My way or the highway" teachers like Val is currently dealing with.
This makes me wonder. If I end up homeschooling my kids. Do I need to follow the American method, living in the US ... or can I teach them the European way that I'm familiar with a lot more? Will that be an issue for them in the future?
