Give me the good old time math.
in [Math]
|
From: William Elliot on 3 May 2010 04:37 The Corvallis school board is deciding upon a new math curriculum, one that will focus on mathematical logic and reasoning instead of problem solving. Is this happening elsewhere in the nation? That math will again be taught in math classes? Unfortunately there's yet more emphasis on working in teams and in collaborating. That I consider to be a mistake like cook book math has been. What I've noticed is that team work students are unsure of themselves, that they need group confirmation at a time when they need to become self reliant. Is this alas, becoming a national fad?
From: J. Clarke on 3 May 2010 07:00 On 5/3/2010 4:37 AM, William Elliot wrote: > The Corvallis school board is deciding upon a new math curriculum, one > that will focus on mathematical logic and reasoning instead of problem > solving. Is this happening elsewhere in the nation? That math will again > be taught in math classes? > > Unfortunately there's yet more emphasis on working in teams and in > collaborating. That I consider to be a mistake like cook book math has > been. What I've noticed is that team work students are unsure of > themselves, that they need group confirmation at a time when they > need to become self reliant. Is this alas, becoming a national fad? If so, it's an old one. Friend of mine retired from teaching in the public schools more than 20 years ago. He still needs group consensus to doubleclick a file. The big question is what the math curriculum is supposed to accomplish. A balance is needed--students need to know how to prove theorems, but they also need to be able to solve problems, and knowing how to do one does not necessarily enable one to do the other.
From: Pubkeybreaker on 3 May 2010 07:37 On May 3, 7:00 am, "J. Clarke" <jclarke.use...(a)cox.net> wrote: > On 5/3/2010 4:37 AM, William Elliot wrote: > The big question is what the math curriculum is supposed to accomplish. > A balance is needed--students need to know how to prove theorems, but > they also need to be able to solve problems, and knowing how to do one > does not necessarily enable one to do the other. I disagree. Strongly. If one knows how to prove theorems, then one knows how to solve problems. The converse, of course, is not necessarily true.
From: William Hughes on 3 May 2010 08:24 On May 3, 8:00 am, "J. Clarke" <jclarke.use...(a)cox.net> wrote: <snip> > A balance is needed--students need to know how to prove theorems, but > they also need to be able to solve problems, and knowing how to do one > does not necessarily enable one to do the other. Certainly students need to know how to solve problems, but why do they *need* to know how to prove theorems, the overwhelming majority will never need to prove a theorem is their lifetime. - William Hughes
From: J. Clarke on 3 May 2010 08:12
On 5/3/2010 7:37 AM, Pubkeybreaker wrote: > On May 3, 7:00 am, "J. Clarke"<jclarke.use...(a)cox.net> wrote: >> On 5/3/2010 4:37 AM, William Elliot wrote: > >> The big question is what the math curriculum is supposed to accomplish. >> A balance is needed--students need to know how to prove theorems, but >> they also need to be able to solve problems, and knowing how to do one >> does not necessarily enable one to do the other. > > I disagree. Strongly. If one knows how to prove theorems, then one > knows > how to solve problems. The converse, of course, is not necessarily > true. Then you disagree with Apostol. We all know what he's done for the teaching of calculus. What have _you_ done? |