Nanjing.

The two last days of the conference where in Nanjing, another nice, humid and warm city in China....

Dtr. Kissane from Australia. Speaks about our personal Technology.

Revisiting personal technology.
Technology is everywhere in society, calculators are cheaper than computers, that is a fact...
Learn by doing.
Calculators can be very important to learn not just to calculate.
Nothing changes in education if nothing changes in our techers which have to be supported.



He shared with us a couple of webs.

Www.aamt.edu.au/projects/gc
Www.staff.murdoch.edu.au/~kissane

He also details a typical problem...

About inequalities
Expose students to a problem about the two rates of mobile telephones before they have been taught firmally to solve inequalities.
Student can guess and check with the calculator.

Here in Nanjing the organization has been also very nice to everybody. And the campus of the city is not as modern as it is in Shanghai but it defenetely is one of the nicest ones in China as they say. The gardens are look very nice and there are old houses that hold the departments of the University, the food here was very good to .... I know we eat much better than students here... in a way they want to impress us...

The last but one meal was really something amazing.... we went to one of the most traditional restaurants in the city....

30 something tiny small courses... very good all of them. And all very well thaught and planed... something light to begin, then meats and fish... soups of mushrooms to finish and to help you to digest...

Ending the conference in Shanghai

To teach one of the most famous equations of Math....

(a +b)2 =a2+2ab+b2 (2's mean square not multiplying)

Dtor. Li Peng says there are two very well known ways.

1-Deductive model... step by step.
2-Geometric model ( two rectangles divided in two ways) & find a patern.

You choose, depending on the students you have but you really need to know that: "An individual does not learn mathematics automaticatically they need an intellectal effort that will smaller as closer it is his or her previous knowledge to the taught topic."

The campus of the University is nice. Chairman Mao is also, as in many places, present...



Dtr. Wei-Chi -Chang.
Talks about some impacts among using technology in math classes. He works in US.
Pros and Cons. He summarizes...
Bush wants more tests which means more class with questions on the test and less creativity, are we just teaching Math for a damn test?

Quoting Leo Tolstoy.

When I ask how failing classes in Philipines are, Mark, a man from NY working in Washington DC for the National Science Organization, says something very interestig to me:

"Ana Karenina begins: Every happy family is happy the same way, every unhappy family is unhappy their own way.... "

He adds: "is the same fot students that peform bad in school."

More interesting sessions.

Today the first plenary session is about.

Teaching with variation.

Experience progressive formalization & extend a problem by varing the conditions this is a very interesting way of teaching is begining with something very easy that could be the warm-up and really growing the knwoledge into something deep. you can use very different examples standard ones and non standard ones to clarify the understanding.



In the second talk Dr. Xi explains us how is a regular class, the environment in a Chinese school.

It seems to be that a chinese class regular class environment is really what I have experienced . We can summurize it saying that there is

• Social & psychological coherence.
• Serious class opening ritual.
• More than half of the students responses are choral responses.
• Class opening ritual as follows.
1. Class begins,
2. Teachers stands behind the desk, look at students and says: good morning students.
3. Students in choral: Good morning, teacher.
4. Sit down, please. says the teacher.

They explain their philosophy like that.
Foundations for high building must be deep & strong.
Understanding is long process recquires extensive mental effort.
Tacit knowledge
Michael Polianyi 1962
Zhu Xi phases of learning
1 have a goal.
2 learn extensively.
3 question seriously.
4 think carefully.
5 distinguish clearly.
6 review and practice.
7 use deligently.

Earcome Conference Shanghai

The conference is being in held by the East Normal University of Shanghai.

I would not say that the organization is good is GREAT. All under control. Everything ready. Volunteers to help us out in case we do not know where to go. Ready to help always.

Many of the conferences are for small groups but some are plenary sessions.

Dr. Tsin-mei Huang talks about Math knowledge to solve everyday live problems.
She states that although students use their knowledge on Math for everyday live they are not aware they are using that math...
Activities like tales and games are fine meanwhile are real in students minds.
In her study she designed interesting presentations to be projected on a white board to keep students engaged. The story is about a group of friend that have to buy things for a party o their way they have to solve some problems about distances, about quantities, discounts etc. I find it quite interesting.


Problem Solving in Philippines.

They present a situation that can be similar to the one I have in the Bronx in terms of population. High percent of Low class, economically high need, but with a "slight" difference, in Philippines students are tutored home by parents. A boy from the most dangerous area made it to the finals of Math Olimpiad due the tutoring and discipline at home.

Another case exposed by the foment is the one about a teacher from a small School in the mountains where students after walking some hours cannot work properly because the last meal they had (rice & dried fish) Teacher brings food for them her position is "I am single; I am not getting to get married, my students are my kids. My money goes to them..."

In another presentation I found very interesting that activity.

Game Run to 30.
To work with an strategy.
Two players count numbers each player can count one or two numbers, but it has to be fast,it wins the one that counts 30.
Game about the spinners. One bigger than the other both with a 1/4 of it painted in blue. Which is the spinner that will give you more options to have blue? Why?

Let's make think, let's make them write their own thinking....

Taiyuan (Catalan Version)

6 d'Agost

Visita a un temple budista que hi ha aprop de Taiyuan. Interessant. Hi aribo amb bus local. Molts xinesos....milers. Turisme que fan una mica cutre... Bruticia, amontegament, i fan fotos a sobre de xavalls o camells. Esfan fotos amb disfresses de l'epoca...
A partir de l'entrada del temple no tants.

Temple budista molt bonic, musica molt bonica. Compro el segon CD.
Torno vaig a un establiment recomanat per una noia que vaig coneixer la nit abans. CaríÌssim... Polos per 1250¡•...125$...
Sopo al establiment torno en taxi a la zona del hotel.

Marxant de Pyngiao (Catalan Version)

For my beloved Catalan friends that are complaining that sometimes they don't get all what I am writing.

5 d'Agost

Al mati hem anat a esmorzar al bar america...

He arribat a Taiyuan. Es una ciutat molt lletja, molt. No obstant estic content d'haver vingut per que m'ensenya una altra cara de la Xina. Em sembla que esta es una bona mostra dek que es de debo la Xina. Aqui no hi ha turistes. En 7 hores no n'he vist ni un, cap europeu, cap. Soc, ara mes que mai una rara abbis. En arribar he vist un munt de gent assentats all carrer, no feien pinta de treballadors de la contrucció com es veu cada dos per tres a Beijing, aqui simplement estaven assentats o estirats al carrer. Brutejaven, mal vestits, deixats....

Alguns jugaven a jocs de taula...



He sortit a fer un volt, m'he comprat un parell de jerseis de cara a la conferencia. He anat a sopar a un buffet lliure, ja estava fart de tant menjar xines...

He voltat per trobar incens ja que el water fa una mica de pudor. L'he trobat i per sorpresa meva es diu Xian... Com la ciutat...
En tornar al hotel he vist un grup d'unes 20 persones dormint al carrer just al costat d'on estic jo, tots junts, tapats.

Xina evoluciona molt molt ràpid... avança el país? no ho sé pas. Suposant que avanci. El que veig és que alguns en un intent desesperat de tenir els mateixos luxes que altres ciutadans arriben a la ciutat sense res, no troben feina... o simplement no poden assumir les despeses que tenen i es queden enrera..