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7/1/11

Hi everyone! This is the end of my 4th week, and the last month has really flown by. I completed a 57 page manual yesterday which felt pretty satisfying. I was writing a manual about all of the reports that can be viewed using Hy-Vee's software. There are probably 30 or 40 different reports. While I understand how to access and view them, I didn't always understand why an employee would use them or which parts would be the most useful. While I was able to write the manual and give basic instructions, this is an example of how sometimes you can understand the procedures, maybe even sound like an expert, but perhaps miss the application portion of something. This reminds me a lot of my students. We teach graphing and equations of lines and slope. They memorize (y1 - y2)/(x1 - x2) = slope and can use it really well if you give them 2 points. Give them a real life scenario and ask them what the slope represents or what the slope would be, and often just knowing that procedure does not allow them to understand the applications and real life uses. This is something I've thought about long before this externship, but it was kind of interesting to see what that feels like from the point of view of a student who maybe doesn't completely understand past just the basic procedures.

I think I understood math from the procedures. My high school math teachers could show me a formula and how to use it, and I just got it. I don't think that is how it works for most math students and after having this feeling of being able to complete a project but not understand everything important behind is, I really want to be able to give my students that deeper understanding. In 6 weeks it would be impossible for me to reach the same level of understanding as the people who have been using the software for the last 2-3 years, so I understand why I'm not an expert, but I hope that by slowing down our lessons (almost 2 days for every topic) and taking out things that we don't think are essential and enduring, we can give our students that deeper understanding more this year.

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