New Method Leaves Questions

Old problems, new methods

Ruth Shaia's gaze whipped back and forth between the notebook in front of her where she was intently drawing diagrams of boxes and the worksheet where the directions for solving the math problem were spelled out. After a pause she scratched out her work in purple pen and began again. Ware Elementary School teaching specialist Krista Smith offered Shaia a suggestion on how to solve the ratio problem with visuals. The math lesson was a typical one seen in the elementary schools, but for Shaia, a sixth- grade math teacher at Shelburne Middle School, solving the real-world math question the way a student might was unfamiliar.