Now, I\u2019m not afraid of decimals (not even ones that are as exceedingly long as the ones above). But, even though I\u2019d found out what the answer was, I realized that I didn\u2019t have a measuring cup that measured in decimals, never mind to the hundred-quadrillionth place! So, the answer itself was useless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.terc.edu\/adultnumeracycenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/28\/2020\/10\/53_measuring_cup_photo.jpg?w=480\")
<\/figure>But, I did have enough number sense to know that 0.845… was pretty close to 8\/10, or its reduced form 4\/5. And, although my measuring cup also doesn\u2019t measure in tenths or fifths, I know that 4\/5 is close to 1. So, I knew I needed a little less than a cup of milk for the recipe. I could have also used a slightly different approach to get the same answer. If I had started my calculations by shortening the conversion factor several places to 0.004, I would have come up with 0.8 which would make more sense to me than the answer provided by the online calculator.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
This volume conversion experience made me think. Using number sense, I was able to think of these unwieldy numbers in more manageable terms. I was able to connect them to benchmarks that were easier to conceptualize. But what about the many adults who have not been taught to use flexible thinking in math to associate something new with something already understood? The conversion factor procedure may have provided an answer, but how well can the average person understand the concept of a number like 0.84535056397299? What does it mean in everyday terms? How does it relate to the actual problem we\u2019re trying to solve? In short, do we know what to do once we have an answer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It reminded me of how often we think of math as simply a bunch of procedures to be followed: Don\u2019t worry about making any sense \u2013 or being useful in real life \u2013 just follow the procedure.<\/em> When there\u2019s an absence of conceptual understanding, we are prone to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Is this what we want for our students \u2013 to just follow procedures (often being told to memorize them, not even having the luxury of Googling a particular procedure) without any understanding, any estimation, any reasoning about whether the answer makes sense or not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n P.S.<\/span> After doing some estimating based on the information I found on the internet, I pulled out my measuring cup only to discover that one side had gradations in cups . . . and the other side had gradations in mL. I guess I should pay closer attention to the math tools that I use. At least I was able to check my work another way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Donna Curry is an educator, curriculum developer and professional development specialist with over 30 years of experience in adult education. For the past 30+ years, she has focused on math standards development at the national level (Equipped for the Future National Standards and Standards-in-Action projects) and at the state level (including states such as Rhode Island, Washington, Oregon, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Ohio). She has also worked on the National Science Foundation\u2019s EMPower<\/a> project and served as co-director for the NSF-funded Teachers Investigating Adult Numeracy (TIAN)<\/a> project. She co-developed and implemented the Adult Numeracy Initiative (ANI) project and Adults Reaching Algebra Readiness (AR)2<\/sup>. Donna currently directs the SABES Mathematics and Adult Numeracy Curriculum & Instruction PD Center<\/a> for Massachusetts and the Adult Numeracy Center<\/a> at 51²è¹Ý<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n
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