Re: [NaturalMath] Re: Please welcome new members: GED help needed; Ko's Journey game author

[Maria Droujkova]

Jennifer,

Here is a serendipitous conversation we just had at Natural Math. I am thinking of making this study a part of the P2PU School of the Mathematical Future: http://p2pu.org/math-future/

In the last few years, I noticed a surge of interest from adult learners returning to studies, usually for certification such as GED or college degrees, but also for enrichment in retirement. Other bloggers and site organizers also note this growing trend. It would be interesting to make a study with the simple methodology Scott described. It will help participants a lot.

The next round of courses at P2PU starts in April, so we can aim for that time, but we can start preliminary work sooner, even some individual pilots with Cheryl or a few others. I am CCing this letter to P2PU researcher group and also School of the Mathematical Future group. We have an IRB at Natural Math if needed for the study.

There are also two billions in grants that just got earmarked for open educational resource community college support: http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/26100 It may be relevant.

I am looking forward to hearing from you, Jennifer!

Cheers,
Maria Droujkova

Make math your own, to make your own math.

 

On Sat, Jan 29, 2011 at 1:04 PM, sc...@imagineeducation.org <sc...@imagineeducation.org> wrote:

Maria & Cheryl,

I am in!

Maria, Your incredible idea!  Thank you for making this connection.

Cheryl, Thank you being so open and sharing your vulnerability about
math.  Math is a subject that causes much emotional discord in so many
people.  I strongly believe that the discomfort comes from the way
math is typically taught.  We are given problems that have no
relevance or meaning in our real world and inherently know that there
is no authentic purpose.  So, we respond, "When will I ever use this
in my life?  Why am I learning this?"  Then we develop the belief that
"I am not good at math" and carry that false notion about our selves
the rest of our lives.

Natural math as Maria advocates is about the development of language
and how story is fundamental to human learning.  When we experience
math in a natural way such as baking a cake with a loved one there is
fulfillment in connection, functionality, creativity and the math
makes sense!  Two cups of flour to one cup of sugar - a natural,
meaningful ratio of 2:1.

When I began developing rich, story-based math games for my students
where they could role play experiences, I noticed an immediate
improvement in their engagement and comprehension resulting in
improved test scores and less emotional resistance to the subject.
Their response inspired me to take story-based games beyond the
classroom to the virtual learning environment of the Internet.

Ko's Journey is the first story I developed into an on-line math game
because of its appeal to both boys...and girls.  Most math games are
exciting for boys because of the action while girls tend to relate
more to characters.  Ko's Journey integrates both ways of learning.
The story begins with a young girl separated from her kin in ancient
wilderness and with the help of her grandfather's spirit discovers a
guidebook left by her elders that teaches her how to navigate her
world.  Along the way she encounters different adventures such as
saving an injured wolf pup by mixing medicinal plants in certain
ratios.  (See http://kosjourney.com for more information.)

Jennifer Harris, my business partner, played Ko’s Journey with her
mother who claimed for years she was bad at math.  I watched her mom,
Joanne, play with hesitancy at first leaning on Jen’s support then as
she began building confidence she enjoyed trying to see if she could
figure the math on her own.   Something shifted for Joanne where her
negative emotions gave way to intrigue the mathematician insider
her.

My initial thought for you, Cheryl, is to see if we can form a small
group of people in a similar situation and set up a virtual classroom
where you can play Ko’s Journey together.  There is a chat feature to
create the communal experience and ask each other questions (peer
teach) to help solve the math.   Ko’s Journey also has pre and post
tests with lessons along the way that will serve as excellent practice
tests for your GED.

Cheryl, if you and anyone else connected with the Natural Math group
is interested in participating in Maria’s idea for a case study,
please write jenn...@imagineeducation.org and she will coordinate
accordingly.

Thanks for the warm welcome Maria!  What a great forum!

Best,
Scott

On Jan 28, 4:33 am, Maria Droujkova <droujk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Please welcome two list members who joined yesterday with encouragement and
> help! Many of us have been in the same shoes, if in different contexts:
> starting a new project, being a minority in our environment.
>
> I want a GED math course running at P2PU School of the Mathematical Future,
> starting in April. Can anyone interested in adult education who is reading
> this help to facilitate it?
>
> http://p2pu.org/math-future/
>
> ~*~*~*~*~*Cheryl writes: "I am working on getting my GED and math is my weakness so i
>
> need help, i have been out of school for thirty years and i have fear about
> going back to school an i will be the oldest student their so help me if you
> can."
>
> First of all, record numbers of people are going for certificates and
> degrees at this time, so there are likely to be at least several people in
> the same boat. I know this not only from statistics, but also from getting
> many similar requests for help or tutoring this past year.
>
> And second, even better news: there are a lot of resources available for
> help, with new added every day. This media did not even exist thirty years
> ago, so Cheryl, math will probably work better for you now than it used to!

> Find an early topic and try any of these resources:http://www.khanacademy.org/- short videos explaining topicshttp://nlvm.usu.edu/- virtual manipulatives with lessonshttp://www.mathplayground.com/- games and interactives by topic

>
> I would like to recommend spending some time with resources like this, until
> you feel better about math. Then you can look at GED prep books that have
> sample tests and explanations. Find about a dozen sample tests, spend an
> hour or so a day trying to solve as many problems as you can, then look at
> the book's explanations. If you need help with particular problems, ask
> there:
>
> http://www.mathhelpforum.com/math-help/- a forum where people help with
> problems, for free
>
> ~*~*~*~*~*Scott writes: "My name is Scott and I have been designing classroom games
>
> where the math makes sense in the story. Recently, I developed one of them
> into an on-line math game."
>
> He talks about Ko's Journey, a roleplaying game originally developed for
> classes of kids (think "Dungeons and Dragons") and now as a computer game.
>
> You can play the demo of the game here:http://www.kosjourney.com/
> Scott's recent interview for Math Future series is here:http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/ScottLaidlaw
>
> I wonder if the game has been tried with people in Cheryl's situation.
> Roleplaying may help to deal with anxieties, and "journey" is such a good
> metaphor for life changes. Scott, Cheryl, want to do a little case study?
> :-)
>
> Cheers,
> Maria Droujkova
>
> Make math your own, to make your own math.

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