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Teaching Fractions: The Tootsie Roll Is the New Pie
theodp writes "Following up on a WSJ story, data visualization author Stephen Few illustrates why using lines or bars may be sweeter than pie when it comes to teaching kids fractions. 'Although the metaphor is easy to grasp (the slices add up to an entire pie),' explains Few, 'we know that visual perception does a poor job of comparing the sizes of slices, which is essential for learning to compare fractions. Learning that one-fifth is larger than one-sixth, which is counter-intuitive in the beginning, becomes further complicated when the individual slices of two pies — one divided into five slices and other into six — look roughly the same. Might it make more sense to use two lines divided into sections instead, which are quite easy to compare when placed near one another?' So, is the Tootsie Roll the new pie?"
There's 9 sections. What happens when you want to teach 1/4s, 1/2s, 16ths ?
That's why I think a bottle of Scotch is the new pie!
Now children, let me drink two shots, what fraction of the bottle did I just drink?
Now children, assume what's left is the whole and I drink another three shots, what fraction is left?
Now children, write a 1,000 word essay on why whiskey is the best math tutor whle I take a little snap.
Anyone who fought over pizza knows that not all 1/8ths are created equal.
When asked if he wanted his pizza cut into 4 or six slices: "You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six." - Yogi Berra
Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.