OpenLab Assignment 1: Mathography

This assignment is due Monday evening, February 13th (midnight).

Assignment.  Choose ONE of the following two topics.  Write a reply to this post, responding to the topic.  Begin by telling us which topic you chose. (1-2 paragraphs).  Be sure to include your name in the post (so I can give you credit).

Topics.

  1. Was math ever your favorite subject? If so, when was it? What about math made it your favorite? If math has never been your favorite subject, what about it do you not like?
  2. Sometimes people can recognize a time when their opinion of math dramatically changed either for the better or the worse. If such a time happened for you or for a friend of yours, tell about it. If you did not experience such a thing, tell about your steady feelings about mathematics.

Extra Credit.  For extra credit, write a response to one of your classmates’ comments.  Do you feel the same?  Did you learn anything?  Do you have any advice?

Why are we doing this, anyway?  Having progressed this far in your school career, you are familiar with many of the tools for learning math:  studying, practicing by doing problems, asking questions when you need help, and so on.  I’d like to talk about two activities that may NOT seem related to learning math — but research shows that engaging in these activities can dramatically increase the amount that you learn, and change the way you learn it.  The first is writing — something not typically associated with mathematics.  When you express your ideas in words, it forces you to think them through very carefully, detail by detail.  A great way to check and see if you really understand something is to try to explain it to someone else, either out loud or in writing.  Example: if you know how to add fractions, try teaching it someone who doesn’t know how.  The second is called metacognition, or “thinking about thinking.”  This happens when you think about what was going on in your head while you were working on a problem or trying to learn a new idea.  What train of thought did you follow?  Where did you get stuck, and what did you do next?  What were you feeling at the time? and so on.  Combining writing and metacognition can be a tremendously powerful tool in identifying the ways we learn best and the ways we make mistakes, and learning to improve.  However, like any skill, it takes practice.  That’s why we’re getting started by writing a little about our past experiences with mathematics.

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43 Responses to OpenLab Assignment 1: Mathography

  1. aboodhoo93 says:

    Math was only my favorite subject last semester when I took 1175. Before taking 1175 Math was such a blur for me. After understanding algebra and the basics of trig, I found math interesting. I think math is interesting because equations are like puzzles which can be solved. I also like math because if you follow the right steps in a problem it can easily be solved. -Andrew Boodhoo

  2. lucyao says:

    Ao,XiaoJing
    Math i like it when it is high school, one thing i like math because it all calculate with number. It also interesting when you solve problem with different ways. It could be easy way or hard way depend how you choice. Math always useful in ourlife.

    • Maisa1491 says:

      I agree that math is useful in life but maybe not all of it, of course depending on what you’ll be working in the future but most likely you wont have to deal with trig and the really confusing stuff.

      • mzraza says:

        Agree, ^ but not completely…i mean trig…etc you wont use but algebra and simple functions of math will always come in handy, – I think science is that sort of class which is completely useless.

  3. Joseortiz says:

    When i was in High School, i barely understood math. One day my Math teacher told me to ask any question, dosen’t matter how stupid it is. That opened the door so i could ask as many questions as i felt like. At first i was doing it for fun, asking any questions that came to mind, trying to confuse my teacher, he got angry from time to time but he answered my questions and when test time came i got a very good grade. Ever since then i really like math and puzzles.

    Can you solve this puzzle????

    Alex, Mitch, and Rob are hard working woodchopers that live their lives to the fullest. All three of them went to the forest to gather some wood. Alex, Mitch, and Rob each chop a tree, but they want to show off their strenght by carrying two at the same time. How are they going to carry it?? I dont know?? Helpppppppppp? Anyone ~~~~

    • mzraza says:

      I completely agree with this, when you get math puzzles it just makes the subject alot more fun and interesting…I had a teacher who taught us in that sort of way…, uh, no idea did he chop the tree in 2?

  4. german822 says:

    I hate Math and yet I’m gifted in numbers, I remember a lot of dates and times. People always tell me to study Math. I’m like (-_-). Math was never really my favorite subject, I was never really good at it. I remember in my highschool years, I would tend to ‘cut’ the class or arrive there late. I honestly don’t see the point of math. Why should I take these hard classes if I’m not going to become a constructor worker or an architect. That’s the way I see it.

    • I Agree Completly..In college their suposed to give u classes based on your major…but some of these math classes..i wonder ex. If your major is English..or w.e…where does trig and caculus come in??? I would say look @ ur major and what you wanna do in life and see if you could find a way to math relevant for the time being to make it easier.. and Try to get good professors that make the class intresting and dont mind helping you…..4 me its just boring weather i understand it or not..just keep ur eye on the prize …The “A” at the end of the semester 😀

      • german822 says:

        OMG YES lmao im so happy you agree with me love <3

      • meyvin72 says:

        Hmmmm good point zytasia & mr. german! It’s like taking a forensics science course when you’re studying to be high school teacher 😛 I think schools should match courses with whatever your major is. Taking these extra classes means more time spent studying topics you won’t use again. Stop delaying my inevitable graduation!!

  5. kaylena17 says:

    Math was never my favorite subject. Not only because numbers freak me out but because since I was a kid I felt like something was wrong with me. So many of my friends and family understand the world of numbers and I didn’t. They would tease me because I didn’t learn my times tables until I was like 12 and even still to this day I have problems with it. It’s not that I don’t want to learn but every time I asked for help everyone thought I was stupid. Like I should already know the answer. Teachers were no help either. They would let me slide with my charm. When ever I even dated ask how to do a math problem they would give me ” the look”.come on you know the look, when their eyes are saying are you serious. The answer would be the reverse statement of my question. For example “why is there a x “. “because the x is there”. This is why I hate math because I don’t understand and it takes me a while to grasp the concepts.

    • tliu1991 says:

      Do you feel the same? Did you learn anything? Do you have any advice?
      I felt the same way with the “x” concept when I first started. I was lucky enough to have assitances from my parents to tutor me on that. If you ever need any help I would be more then happy to assist you. Of course I would first need to make sure I know it before then. So if anything you can always contact me, send me a message if you like 🙂

    • brina92 says:

      I feel the same the way. You think teachers would be more understanding. Teachers are suppose to be patient with students. They shouldn’t expect you’re suppose to know, after all their job is to instruct. There are students who grasp math pretty quickly, and sometimes they’re better able to explain to you because they are students too. That have been my experience

    • meyvin72 says:

      It’s ok if numbers freak you out kaylena, porque not everybody gets it! So don’t ever think something is wrong with you ;-). For example, it’s not that I don’t get american history, it’s just I have little to no interest in it! Don’t feel hesitant to ask someone for help in any subject, especially the times table. When you DON’T ask the questions you want the answers to then you’re only harming yourself and actually making yourself dumber! I recently asked a question in English class. I said I know how to use the words TO and TOO in terms of proper grammar, but what about when using SO and SOO? He said there is no word SOO! Hmmm for a second I felt dumb, but then I said to myself hey that’s what I was lead to believe from my previous English teachers and at least I raised my hand to find this out unlike the majority of my classmates who don’t speak up and just sit there like slapnuts! Hope I helped you out kaylena even if it was a little bit! 🙂

  6. tliu1991 says:

    Math has been my favorite subject since the age of 7. Math is my favorite subject because I found it very easy to learn. I always had my parents to assist me with math homework whenever needed, which gave me some bonding time with them. The only thing I dislike about math is trigonometry,graphing (slopes and rise). Those are by far the most difficult for me to understand, but I still love math. – Tony Liu

    • aboodhoo93 says:

      Lucky for you, your parents were able to assist you with math homework as i tried on my own. I definitely agree math is an easy subject in general to learn, but when it comes to trigonometry its a whole different story.

  7. Mr_Carter says:

    I always enjoyed math from grade K to like 10. It was always fun working with numbers and learning new things. When i was younger my father would always sit me down and help with my math hw. I always recieved average grades in math until i ran into a brick wall in high school called MATH B. I was pretty much floating around and was completely lost when it came to Log. My last 2 years of high school taking math b was killer.(needless to say i failed the math b regents) Those two years in math b really discouraged me from the subject overall and so here we are. I felt like math b was just a little too much to take it in a year.(ironicly now math is broken up into 3 sections in high schools instead of 2) But i won’t let math deter me from what i want to do in life. – Andre Carter

    • jocelynjv says:

      Wow, i remember when highschool back in the days had divided math into diffrent sections, Math A , Math B and i think Geometry lol well thats how my school was. Either way, by my second year of highschool THANK GOD my school got rid of Math B.!!! I never understood exactly what it contained nor what it looked like , but goodness, i never took it. Many of my friends failed that regent, im guessing the school realized that many students werent passing. You shouldnt had felt discouraged. sometimes there are things that we might fail but it doesnt mean that we’ll fail in everything.
      Jocelyn Vigil

  8. arielyip says:

    1)Hello, my name is Ariel Yip and this is my first post! In my opinion i dislike math, unfortunately I am the firm believer that if I won’t use it in my life I won’t remember it. Simple daily life is not necessary to include calculus into everyday routine. But it is understandable for careers to include a difficult level of mathematics in their lives. Since I find it very difficult to grasp because of the many methods to get around the problem to find a similar answer. But I soley respect the people to have interest to taking this course in life for personal interest and, or for the enprovement of their careers.

  9. Talia Ordonez says:

    Math is not my favorite, but i dont hate either. Although its not my favorite i seem to be very good at it. Math is easy to learn but depending how you learn it. I in the past didn’t have good teachers who wanted to help me or anybody in fact with a math problem, which made me hate the subject. But luckly my father was there to help me out with anything relating to math. Because of my father i started to like math again and ever since his help, my grades were looking really good. Overall i like math.
    – Talia Ordonez

  10. capello325 says:

    Math is not my favorite, but i dont hate either. Although its not my favorite i seem to be very good at it. Math is easy to learn but depending how you learn it. I in the past didn’t have good teachers who wanted to help me or anybody in fact with a math problem, which made me hate the subject. But luckly my father was there to help me out with anything relating to math. Because of my father i started to like math again and ever since his help, my grades were looking really good. Overall i like math, well i better like it because am going to need it in order to be a good architect.
    – Talia Ordonez

  11. brina92 says:

    Math was never my favorite subject. I hate decimals and I’m obsessed with even numbers, make my life better. There are certain things I’m better at like algebra, but I’m horrible at trig. That kind of thing. It would be nice to go back to times when all you’ve to worry about is 2+2. It was also frustrating because it took me longer to grasp a concept sometimes than everyone else. So students would laugh and called me stupid, and some of the teachers I had were just as irritated with me, gave me same look. Math for me is more enjoyable with a teacher like professor reitz, even if I was failing the class But i will not 🙂

    • mizzdemy says:

      I agree! Prod. Reitz seem to really enjoy what he does, unlike some of the other teachers Ive had. I see the excitement when he teaches, it makes me WANT to learn and put all my effort into passing this class. And yes, decimals are my enemy as well. =D

  12. Math was never really a favorite subject for me. At times i was difficult and at times it was relatively easy, depending on the topic. But overall it was always a constant headache for me. For example when learning how to solve equations back when i was in H.s. i couldn’t figure it out for the life of me and then one morning i woke up and knew how to do them. But due to the fact that it took me forever to grasp the concept i got feed up with math and since then , the subject has always been somewhat of a hit or miss thing with me. Going forward though i think i learned the secret to passing math……………….the only way in can pass math is if i take it by itself so i can only focus on passing it.

    -Todd Manning

  13. Jesse says:

    My opinion on math has changed from grade school till now and not for the better. At one point, math used to be my favorite subject which was in elementary school. The simple adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing and learning shapes were all easy but then variables, algebra and trigonometry came in and made everything complicated

    – Jesse Mohammed

  14. jdorismond22 says:

    When I was younger I wasn’t bad in math, it wasn’t my strongest subject either. Until I had a teacher by the name of Mr.Pestano he helped me a lot. He broke down math for me and made me realize something. Math is like a sport or a certain talent you have. The only way you can get better is with practice (homework, classwork, etc). You can’t let the numbers and symbols scare you. So I pushed myself to do and ended up receiving a 93 average. Math still isn’t my favorite subject but I do like it. Everything in life (whether you believe it or not) has some type of math involved. So Math can actually help you get pretty far in life.

  15. My name is Catherine Brito. The topic I chose is the first one, which says if math has ever been my favorite subject, and my answer is yes. Since early age at school I felt interest by numbers eventhough some problem seemed hard to me. But I always remember my teacher’s words saying “ no matter what dificult a problem looks like, you have to be patiente searching the easyest way to solve it, and become math’s friend not enemy, love it no hate it because all depends how you look a at the problem, and if I you grab in your mind something is dificul and you can not solve it, that’s how you will live for life” After that I just followed his advice, and I could say I have enjoy the subject doing well on it.

  16. Maisa1491 says:

    Math was never my strongest suit, though i was great at it as a child, I grew up dumb to the subject. The more I get older and continue with school, the harder it gets. I honestly don’t know or remember when things started to get this hard for me. I struggle to pass my math classes. But this 1275 class is really is an eye opener to the subject. I’m starting to get it little by little but hopefully it continues this way. I’m still great at easy math I used to tutor elementary school students in math, and I got a comment from one students that was having trouble with multiplication that i’ll never forget “Cool, You made this easier for me” =) -Maisa Abdelrahim

  17. Cindy says:

    Math was never my favorite subject but it wasn’t my least favorite either. Back in High School I was pretty good at it but once I started college I started to get a little lost, it just gets more difficult to me. There are times that I find it interesting trying to solve problems but sometimes I start to get a headache and I just feel like giving up! Hopefully this semester I can get better in math.

    Cindy Soto

  18. mizzdemy says:

    (OPTION 1)

    Back when I was in high school, I LOVED math! Passed every test and even did extra credit assignments. What made me fall in love with math? Well off the top of my head I will say polynomials. My teacher actually taught this to me before the rest of the class because I was bored and needed something to do (lol). For some reasons when I learned this, I was anxious to see what other cool things math had to offer. Unfortunately I graduated high school 5 yrs ago, and I began college 3 yrs after that, so all that I once knew, left my mind. I am now trying to regain my love for math again, hoping that one day I will be able to enjoy it as I did before. =D -Demetria Anderson

  19. mzraza says:

    I always enjoyed math as a topic, but towards end of middle school I began to hate it…became very hard to understand…but then in the 9th grade I had a teacher who was the best math teacher Ive ever had, he used to work with us in school, and would often have afterschool, which he would do homeworks with us, and then “hang out”. I think thats why I want to take math ed. as a major, so that I would be able to teach as he did.

  20. At a young age I never really had a problem with math. I was at the top of my class. Never received lower then a B on a math test. Everything changed once I entered high school. I was thrown into a school with lazy math teachers. As I went on in high school I started to dislike math more and more. Each teacher had their own way of slacking off and not teaching the lessons. Without the basics its hard to excel. I hope to put that all behind me and start a new in my college life
    Justin Marquez

  21. Manuel Z. says:

    Option 1

    Math has always been my favorite subject. It became my favorite subject, since I was in 5th grade. I enjoy doing math, primarily because it is a challenging subject. Math is the answer to the world’s problems. (Think of computers,trains,planes etc. these machines depend on mathematics to function) ~~Manuel Zetino

  22. cdavis says:

    Math could be fun if you know what is going on. Solving equations and calculations becomes most difficult when I’m forgetting steps. What I’m saying is I loved math in high school, however now it’ s a bit of a strain for me.

  23. jocelynjv says:

    To be honest, Math was never my favorite subject. As a student to ever say that i do love math would be a great lie. Now im not saying that math is the most horrible subject ever created. I understand this subject actually helps you later in life, but half of what we learn we might never use, for example solving x’s and other problems similar to that.

    When i was a bit younger, i had struggled with understanding math. I believe with what i struggled the most was remembering the steps to solve the problems. i guess as i got older i had gotten a bit better , all i need to really understand math is simple, which is practicing every chance i have.

    Jocelyn Vigil

  24. Derrick Lau says:

    When i was in elementary school to middle school, i excelled in math but now i find it more as a chore than anything else. My weakness in math is that i over look things and i forget their placement or skip a step by accident but other than that i think i am pretty decent in math.

  25. Option 1….Zy-Tasia Gaines
    In middle school and the first few years of high school, I really enjoyed math but then the work just seemed less relevant to real life and when I asked my teachers when we will ever use this stuff in the real world. The response I received was never unless we are in a math related field..So after that I pretty much lost interest in the whole subject.. when I got to college I figured I would give math a second chance then I realized that in college u only focus on a subject for a short time then it’s on to the next topic… it feels very rushed and stressful, then you get professors that have been teaching so long they speak very fast and gets annoyed when asked to go over it again. After a while I started dreading coming to class I also HATE the fact that you’re expected to memorize many different methods and formulas. Even in science your given a formula chart but not math.. I always get confused on which formula works for which equation…and I’m not going to even talk about trig…I will never see how that has anything to do with life or why is just thrown in the mid of the semester u review so much then the final only had a few trig questions…But I came to a happy medium I don’t have to like the subject but if I have a good professor I can get through the class soo…last semester in 1175 with Prof Reitz the class stayed relevant, interesting and Prof is very helpful …hopefully I have the same experience this semester .

  26. vedwin3 says:

    Math was never my favorite subject. Ever since I was in middle school I have always been weak in it and I find it very difficult. At first every problem is easy but then as it gets deeper you have to do more and that stresses me a lot and I just end up getting confused. There is just too many numbers and formulas to solve one equation. –Edwin Zapata

  27. perez92 says:

    Ive always hated math. Math was never ever my favorite subject, to this day i hate math. I can remember always cutting math class in high school. In 8th grade i realized that i had despised math and to this day nothing changed, i still hate it. I feel as if math is way to difficult to learn and is not something admirable. i cant wait to finish these math classes to finally get over with them. I thought 1175 was hard i don’t know what is going to happen with 1275

    – John Perez

  28. Peter Huang says:

    Yes math was one of my favorite subject at one point because i was able to solve the math problems easily. What i didn’t like about it was when it got harder and really hard to solve. Overall i like math and its fun for me. Just need a good teacher that explains it step by step.

    -Peter Huang

  29. qriconyc says:

    question 1 response-
    Math has always been my favorite subject since i was very young i got through all my courses with no problem and i always scored one of the highest in my class.
    In high school i did very good on my math courses until i got to trig. everything seem so easy until i got to trigonometry on my last year of high school, i would tutor a group of students for geometry and basic algebra it was too easy for me but when trigonometry came to my life i was destroy too much thinking and i was not a very focus student when it came to that . well i hope to change that now in this course and to pass with an acceptable grade . -Rodrigo Rojas

  30. crisb1292 says:

    I have always loved math throughout my middle school years and also in the beginning of high school. When I had trigonometry my junior year I feel like I was forced not to like math. The main reason was me not liking my teacher and the fact that I couldn’t understand her made things much worse. I feel like she did not like me either but o well things happen. Ever since that trigonometry class I’ve hated math and i don’t think there is any turning back. I comprehend math now with better teaching and it isn’t difficult it was just that one teacher that corrupted me. ~Cristian Burgos

  31. meyvin72 says:

    Topic # 1

    Ever since I was a young lad Math has always been my favorite subject. When I started going to school around the age of 5 I had to take the basic classes of education. Such as English, Art, Science, and Math. How most young children looked at it, Math was a foreign subject to me, I had no idea what it was about, or why we needed to learn it. My class started with simple Mathematics, adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. As time went by I began to develop a curious interest in how this world of Math worked and how it applied to a person’s everyday life.

    Soon I realized that Math was all around us, at all times. I wasn’t trying to rush through the class and jump into calculus or trigonometry, but simple things I noticed. For example; if there are two pieces of candy in a pack how many pieces of candy would I have if I bought 3 packs? I said to myself “WOW, I’d have 6 pieces of candy!” I guess I had a love for numbers at an early age. Since my father is a very educated individual he trained me from my youth to fully understand how the different branches of Mathematics worked. I would borrow Algebra, and Geometry books from the neighborhood library and study with him. Also the more I learned about money the more I loved math, and vice versa! Eventually Math became the subject that had the most interest to me.

    Serge E. “Meyvin” Simpson

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