4 Steps to Unlock Your Kid's Math Potential | Shalinee Sharma | TED

翻译人员: Sue Lu 校对人员: Carol Wang

Let me get started with this.

我想由此开始说起：

I'm a mom

我是一位母亲，

and I have 13-year-old twin boys.

有一对 13 岁的双胞胎男孩。

I want to share a vivid memory from when they were in pre-K.

我想分享一段他们 上学前班时的生动回忆。

A mom came over at pickup to befriend me

接孩子时，一位妈妈过来和我亲近，

and she started telling me about her daughter.

开始告诉我关于她女儿的事。

She said, "She's like me.

她说：“她和我一样，

She's just not a math kid.

不是个擅长数学的孩子。

But your boys, your boys are math kids.

但你的儿子们，他们很擅长数学。

We're just not math people."

我们数学就是不行。”

I was stunned.

我惊呆了。

I worried if I opened my mouth to disagree,

但我担心如果我张嘴表示反对，

I'd say something crazy.

我会说些让人受不了的话。

And we all know the price of crazy at pickup.

而我们都知道在接孩子时 让人受不了的代价。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

You never get invited to any playdates.

你就永远不会被邀请 参加任何玩耍聚会，

So I bit my tongue.

所以我忍住没说。

She was the smartest and sweetest mom.

她是这里最聪明、最体贴的妈妈，

And I remember thinking,

记得我当时在想，

"How do you know your four-year-old will never be good at math?"

“你怎么知道你四岁的孩子 永远不会擅长数学？”

Can you imagine if we thought the same thing in reading?

你能想象如果我们也如此看待阅读吗？

If a kid struggled and we said, "Ah, she's just not a reading kid."

如果孩子在阅读上挣扎， 我们就说：“啊，她不擅长阅读。”

And then we took away all the challenging books

然后在她接下来的整个求学期间，

and writing assignments for the rest of her school years.

我们免除了其所有 有难度的书籍和写作作业。

We'd never do that.

其实，我们永远不会那样的。

We'd never be OK labeling some of the kids "reading kids,"

我们永远不会给 一些孩子贴上 “擅长阅读的小孩” 的标签，

and leaving the rest illiterate.

而让其余的孩子成为文盲。

But that's exactly what we do in math.

但这正是我们在数学领域所做的。

I'm a math learning expert and an education technologist,

我是一名数学学习专家 和教育技术专家，

and believe it or not, I was not always a math kid.

信不信由你，

小时候，我并不总是擅长数学。

But for the last 12 years,

但是在过去的 12 年中，

I have observed millions of students complete billions of math problems

我见证了数百万学生 完成数十亿道数学题，

and I've visited math classrooms on three continents,

并参观了三大洲的若干数学课堂，

all to build the math-learning nonprofit Zearn.

都是为了创建学习数学的 非营利组织 Zearn。

And in all that work,

在所有这些工作中，

I’ve learned one important thing:

我学到了一件重要的事情：

We are asking the wrong question in math learning.

我们在学习数学时问错了问题。

Instead of asking who can learn math,

我们不应该问“谁”能学数学，

we should be asking, how do you teach math?

而应该问，你是怎么教授数学的？

Because when we ask “who,”

因为当我们问 “谁” 时，

we imply that math learning is some rare genetic ability,

就是在暗示数学学习 是一种罕见的遗传能力，

but it's not.

但事实并非如此。

We have piles of data that tell us we can all build a math mind,

有大量的数据显示，

所有人都可以建立数学思维，

and we all need a math mind.

而我们也很需要具有数学思维。

And so I have four steps to offer

因此，我可以提供四个步骤

that begin to answer the question,

来开始回答

how do we build a math mind

如何建立数学思维这个问题，

and hopefully put an end to this labeling nonsense

并希望能结束这种胡说八道的标签，

once and for all.

一劳永逸地结束！

Step one: believe.

第一步：树立信心。

Remember when I said I wasn't always a math kid?

还记得我说过自己小时候 并不总是擅长数学吗？

I was in sixth grade.

我当时在读六年级，

I had just transferred schools

刚刚转了学，

and it was in math class that I fell apart.

正是数学课让我彻底崩溃了。

I had no friends in math class,

我在数学课上没有朋友，

and the kids who were thriving were a group of boys

学得如鱼得水的是一群男孩子，

who wouldn't talk to me.

他们根本不和我讲话。

But I would not talk to them either.

而我也不和他们讲话，

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Because they were grody.

因为他们令人恶心。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

One day after a test,

有一天，考试结束后，

my teacher called me over to his desk and he said,

老师叫我到他课桌前，说：

"If you try your very best,

“如果你尽力而为，

you could be just as good as the boys."

你可以和那些男孩子一样出色。”

Eek!

天啊！

Not an ideal thing to say to a little girl.

这可不是对一个小女孩说的话。

And the gender gaps in math persist today.

而数学领域的性别差距至今仍然存在。

But it didn't matter because my heart exploded.

但那并不重要， 因为当时我的心都炸了。

The coolest teacher I had ever met said that I could succeed.

我见过的最酷的老师说我能够成功。

Hyperbole, maybe,

也许是夸张吧，

but I think his words changed the course of my life.

但我认为他的话 改变了我的人生轨迹。

Because he believed,

因为他的信任，

he started a powerful chain reaction.

由此引发了一系列强烈的连锁反应。

Because he believed,

因为他的信任，

I built up the courage to ask for extra help.

让我能鼓起勇气去寻求额外帮助。

And with that extra help, I did the extra work.

有了额外的帮助， 我得以完成额外的功课。

And with that courage, extra help and extra work,

就是凭借这份勇气、 额外的帮助和额外的功课，

I became a math kid.

我成为了擅长数学的小孩。

And along the way, I learned my experience was pretty normal.

一路走来，我了解到 我的经历很普遍。

All kids, even the math kids,

所有的孩子，即使是数学天才小孩，

fall behind, struggle or feel math anxiety.

都会落后、挣扎或对数学感到焦虑。

But the difference for those kids is someone believes.

但是对于那些天才小孩来说， 区别在于有人相信他们，

And so they do the work and they catch up.

因此他们能坚持 完成功课从而迎头赶上。

Actually, in any subject you learn, you can fall behind,

在你学习的任何科目中，

你都可能落后，

but that's usually a signal to work harder.

这通常表明你需要更努力。

But in math, that same signal is that you don't have what it takes,

但在数学中，

这却意味着你没有所需的能力，

and we give up and seal our fate.

于是我们就放弃了，认命了。

And so that's why the first step is to believe.

因此，这就是为什么 第一步是树立信心。

And the second step is to understand.

第二步：理解。

Don't just memorize math,

不要只是死记硬背，

understand it and use pictures.

要理解数学，使用图片很有帮助。

Let's say you have to take a reading test

假设你得参加一个阅读考试，

and you memorize 200 words to take the test.

为此你背了 200 个单词。

You don't actually know how to read,

但你其实并不知道如何阅读，

but let's say you get an A on the test.

假设你在考试中仍获得了 A 。

And then naturally, a few weeks later,

自然，几周后，

you'd forget a lot of what you'd memorized,

你就会忘记很多你死背的单词，

but with it you would forget how to read.

从而忘记如何阅读。

Terrifying, right?

很可怕，对吧？

And that's what math class feels like for a lot of kids.

而这就是很多孩子上数学课的感觉。

Think about how you can grab any book off a shelf

想想当你从书架上 拿出任何一本书时，

and feel calm and confident,

那种平静而自信的感觉，

because you can read it.

都是因为你知道你能胜任阅读。

What if your math learning felt like that,

如果你的数学学习也有这种感觉，

where everything clicked into place and your math learning was durable?

一切都水到渠成，牢固持久，该多好？

Let's take a big idea in math: ratios

让我们来看看数学中的一个重要概念：

比率和比例推理。

and proportional reasoning.

One is to two or three is to one.

1 : 2 或者 3 : 1 。

More scary math to memorize?

还有更可怕的、需要死背的数学吗？

No way.

没有。

I can use a picture from my everyday life

我可以使用日常生活中的图片

to understand ratios.

来理解比例。

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

比如，花生酱和果冻三明治。

My twins have very different taste preferences.

我的双胞胎的口味偏好截然不同，

One likes his sandwich with one spoon of jelly

一个喜欢三明治里加一勺果冻

and two spoons of peanut butter,

和两勺花生酱，

and the other likes his sandwich with three spoons of jelly

另一个喜欢三明治里有三勺果冻

and one spoon of peanut butter.

和一勺花生酱。

Very different ratios, very different sandwiches.

比例不同，三明治也不同。

Math can and should make sense.

数学可以而且应该是有含义的。

Now let's take a look at this problem.

现在让我们来看看这道题。

Which fraction has a value closest to one half?

哪个分数的值最接近 1/2 ？

Two halves,

2/2、

five eighths,

5/8、

one sixth or one fifth?

1/6、

还是 1/5 ？

Now a lot of us have been trained

我们许多人受的训练

to just jump right in and start calculating.

是直接开始计算，

We're looking for a common denominator across these fractions.

寻找这些分数的公分母。

And because that's kind of hard to do for eight, six, five and two in your head,

因为光在脑子里计算 8，6，5 和 2 的公分母很难，

you might even reach for a piece of paper.

你甚至可能会去拿张纸来算。

But there is another way to get started,

但其实还有别的方法来做这道题，

which is to pause and to understand.

那就是停下来，先理解这个题目。

You might imagine, or draw a rectangle

你可以想象，或者画一个矩形，

and shade in one part

将一半涂上阴影，

and imagine, what is one half?

然后想象一下，1/2 是什么？

And then what is two halves?

什么是 2/2 ？

Well, that's the exact same rectangle.

好，这是同样的一个矩形，

But now I've shaded in both parts.

但我把两半都涂了阴影，

So two halves is one whole.

所以两半等同于一个整体，即 1 。

And pretty soon from imagining or drawing these rectangles,

很快，通过想象或绘制这些矩形，

it would become obvious

一切都变得显而易见，

that five eights is the only reasonable option.

5/8 是唯一合理的选择。

Because sometimes the reward of understanding

有时候，理解的回报

is not having to calculate at all.

就是根本不用计算。

Now, this question was given to American fourth graders

这道题是美国四年级学生

on a national test,

在一次全国统考中遇到的，

and 73 percent got this question wrong.

73％ 的人都答错了。

The most commonly picked answer?

多数人选择的答案？

Two halves.

是 2/2 。

The most wrong answer possible.

而那是最错、最不合理的答案。

Because that's what happens when we memorize math.

当我们死背数学时， 就会发生这种情况。

And so just like we have to make math meaningful,

因此，就像我们必须 让数学变得有意义一样，

step three is we have to make math fun.

第三步：必须让数学有趣。

Make math practice fun.

让数学练习变得有趣。

Math practice.

数学练习。

I know what you're thinking.

我知道你在想什么——

A worksheet with 50 tedious, long division problems.

有 50 道冗长乏味的 除法题的作业纸。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But we've known for years,

但是多年来，我们已经知道，

in reading, if we want kids to learn it and to love it,

如果想让孩子学习并喜欢阅读，

we need to appeal to their interests.

我们需要迎合他们的兴趣。

Fantasy novels with elves,

比如用精灵的奇幻小说，

graphic novels with spies.

间谍的图画小说。

What's that in math?

那在数学里用什么呢？

Games.

游戏。

Card games, board games,

纸牌游戏、棋盘游戏、

real-world games you just make up on the fly.

现实中你即兴编造的游戏。

And just like we're told to read to our kids for 20 minutes a day,

就像我们需要每天 给孩子读书 20 分钟一样，

play games often.

也应该经常玩数学游戏。

When my twins were little, a favorite was the game Battleship,

当我的双胞胎小的时候， 最喜欢的一款游戏是海战棋，

where the objective is to sink the opponent's ship.

游戏目标是击沉对手的战舰。

But also an engaging application of the coordinate plane.

它也是坐标平面的 一种引人入胜的应用。

If you get a hit on E5,

如果你在 E5 上大获成功，

you're quickly thinking of which coordinate to call out next.

你很快就会想到 接下来要调用哪个坐标。

你也可以在现实生活中编造简单游戏。

You can also just play simple games that you make up in the real world.

When our twins were little,

当我们的双胞胎很小的时候，

we'd give them ten bucks each at the farmer's market and we'd say,

我们会在农贸市场 给他们每人十元，然后说：

"Make sure you count the change before you hand over the money.

“在付钱之前，一定要算好零钱。

Otherwise, how do you know you're not getting ripped off?"

否则，你怎么知道没有被骗呢？”

And a tip with all these games:

另外，关于这些游戏的一个提示：

don't make them a math lesson.

不要把它们当成数学课。

Just like you wouldn't stop reading a book

就像在读书时，你不会停下来

去和孩子一起划出主语和动词一样，

to underline the subject and the verb with your kids,

just have fun

尽情享受其中的乐趣，

and let your kids have fun too.

也让你的孩子享乐其中吧。

And that brings me to the fourth and final step.

这就引出了第四步，最后一步：

Give math a second chance.

再给数学一次机会，

You might love it.

你说不定会爱上它呢。

Have you ever noticed how the math kids giggle about math?

你有没有注意到擅长数学的孩子 咯咯笑着谈论数学的？

They love it.

他们热爱数学，

They love the power and the beauty of math.

热爱数学的力量和美感。

And it's not because they're made of different genetic stuff.

这并不是因为他们的基因不同，

It's because somebody believed in them.

而是因为有人相信了他们。

And they learned math

他们学习数学，

so they understood and they had fun.

理解数学，

并从中得到乐趣。

So they practiced enough to build a math mind.

他们做了足够的练习 从而建立起数学思维。

And maybe that wasn't your experience growing up.

也许那不是你在成长中的经历。

And that's OK.

没关系，

We can all give math a second chance now for ourselves and for our kids.

现在我们都可以为自己和孩子 再给数学一次机会。

Look, we all know

听着，我们都知道，

that it's pretty hard for our kids to like something if we hate it.

我们的孩子很难喜欢上 我们讨厌的东西，

And the world of math can be mean and exclusive.

而数学世界有时也会很刻薄排外。

But it can change when we make a decision,

但当我们下定决心时， 情况可能就会改变，

when we see the power and the beauty of math.

尤其是当我们能看到 数学的力量和美感时。

And when we do,

这时候，

no one can take that from us.

就没人能让我们再失去数学了。

Kierkegaard once talked about two kinds of love.

克尔凯郭尔曾经谈到过两种爱：

Spontaneous love and true love.

自发的爱和真爱。

Spontaneous love just happens to you.

自发的爱自然而然地发生，

You don't have any control over it.

你完全无法掌控。

But true love is something different.

但真爱是另一回事，

It's where you decide.

它可以由你决定、掌控。

And so the change in you is to approach math with the plan,

因此，你内在所需的改变就是，

学习数学时，要有计划、

with the knowledge

有知识、有耐心，

and with the patience that you will get to true love.

如同你为获得真爱时所做的。

Because in math, true love is waiting for you.

因为在数学中，真爱正等着你。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）