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A new way to make quadratic equations easy (2019)

technologyreview.com

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Re: A new way to make quadratic equations easy (2019)

#21

Leaving aside the fact that this isn't new -- it's how I was taught to solve quadratic equations in the 80s -- if you look closely he's still completing the square.

Isn’t the whole point that it’s the same thing with a slightly different derivation?

When I saw the title I was expecting some kind of geometric approach which was worrying to me because I think people are even worse at understanding geometric proofs of anything like this than they are at understanding algebraic proofs. Indeed, completing the square is a geometric technique originally and that is, I think, why it has that name (which makes no sense to the high school students who are taught it).

I’m also struggling to see the innovation in the article, or rather why it is any better, but I think a lot of my problem is that I’m basically fine at all the abstract manipulation of symbols required for school algebra and was when learning about completing the square yet I think it is one of the fundamentals that people really struggle with. When you look at the derivation of the quadratic formula, you need relatively complex expressions and I think only the strongest high school students at algebra (at least from my school) will be able to cope with the derivation. But I think this new method doesn’t help with what I think are the most common confusions: not understanding what a variable is (or variable notation) and not understanding what a function is (or function notation; though I think in this case it maybe doesn’t help that the function is implicit). I feel like I’m just a bad person to judge this method (but I think most people capable of talking about it would be poor judges). I’d be interested in the results of an experiment that tried different methods of teaching but the problem with such experiments is that the teacher in the experiment is likely to understand the method much better than a random teacher outside of the experiment.

Re: A new way to make quadratic equations easy (2019)

#23
post #6

The B/2 term places the center of the parabola, which you can verify by either inspecting the derivative or fiddling with a graphing calculator. Then, because the parabola is symmetric, the zeros must be a pair of points mirrored across the center, with the distance from the center determined by the vertical offset (the C term) versus the narrowness (the A term). Which I definitely agree is an easier way to deal with…

It's only obvious that x = -B/2A is the parabola's axis of symmetry if you complete the square in the traditional way, or use calculus to locate the extremum. So it seems to me that we don't need a new method, we need better teaching of the tried-and-true method.

If children were exposed to this new thing, even more of them would be traumatized and develop a lifelong loathing for quadratic equations.

The ideal method, IMO, is to complete the square AND provide a geometric interpretation of the expression that results.

Re: A new way to make quadratic equations easy (2019)

#24

I hope this is making the rounds as laughing stock, because the claims are just ridiculous: the 'new, easier' method is not new nor easier.

And students need not memorise the equation, instead they can derive it from another equally unintuitive equation then go through many logical steps of multiplication, simplification and refactoring - each being locations where students are likely to introduce errors.

This is not simpler for the student. Its is, at best, a simpler way to derive the equation, a thing which most people will never do.

Re: A new way to make quadratic equations easy (2019)

#26
post #6

The B/2 term places the center of the parabola, which you can verify by either inspecting the derivative or fiddling with a graphing calculator. Then, because the parabola is symmetric, the zeros must be a pair of points mirrored across the center, with the distance from the center determined by the vertical offset (the C term) versus the narrowness (the A term). Which I definitely agree is an easier way to deal with…

It's only obvious that x = -B/2A is the parabola's axis of symmetry if you complete the square in the traditional way, or use calculus to locate the extremum. So it seems to me that we don't need a new method, we need better teaching of the tried-and-true method. If children were exposed to this new thing, even more of them would be traumatized and develop a lifelong loathing for quadratic equations. The ideal method…

It can be obvious in other ways. For example if you can see how a parabola is the product of two straight lines. And you can teach it that way.

Re: A new way to make quadratic equations easy (2019)

#27
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's only obvious that x = -B/2A is the parabola's axis of symmetry if you complete the square in the traditional way, or use calculus to locate the extremum. So it seems to me that we don't need a new method, we need better teaching of the tried-and-true method. If children were exposed to this new thing, even more of them would be traumatized and develop a lifelong loathing for quadratic equations. The ideal method…

It can be obvious in other ways. For example if you can see how a parabola is the product of two straight lines. And you can teach it that way.

I think, like the OP, this just dances around completing the square without actually eliminating the need for it. How do we know that all parabolas can be expressed as the product of two symmetrical straight lines?

Re: A new way to make quadratic equations easy (2019)

#28
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It can be obvious in other ways. For example if you can see how a parabola is the product of two straight lines. And you can teach it that way.

I think, like the OP, this just dances around completing the square without actually eliminating the need for it. How do we know that all parabolas can be expressed as the product of two symmetrical straight lines?

This is not about deep math. It's about pedagogics. How to generate some understanding and good feelings for solving quadratic equations.

Re: A new way to make quadratic equations easy (2019)

#29

Leaving aside the fact that this isn't new -- it's how I was taught to solve quadratic equations in the 80s -- if you look closely he's still completing the square.

Surprisingly, the article seems to be written by a smart mathematician, not a crackpot or a social scientist. [1] This kinda reminds me of that medical researcher who rediscovered trapezoid rule in 1994, and called it "Tai's Model". [2] To be fair, this is slightly better as it is supposed to be pedagogical, but it is still quite dishonest to pretend that it is new. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Po-Shen_Loh [2]:…

[deleted]

Re: A new way to make quadratic equations easy (2019)

#30
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think, like the OP, this just dances around completing the square without actually eliminating the need for it. How do we know that all parabolas can be expressed as the product of two symmetrical straight lines?

This is not about deep math. It's about pedagogics. How to generate some understanding and good feelings for solving quadratic equations.

I just don't get why making some unsupported postulate about how parabolas can be generated from straight lines is better pedagogically than teaching completing the square and providing a geometric interpretation for completing the square.
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