Stop teaching calculating; Start teaching math
computerbasedmath.org
Stop teaching calculating; Start teaching math
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Re: Stop teaching calculating; Start teaching math
#2[deleted]
Re: Stop teaching calculating; Start teaching math
#3Enjoyed skimming your article. If only more geeks actually wanted to teach kids... unfortunately most of us will only be able to do that once we've retired!
Re: Stop teaching calculating; Start teaching math
#4Added to the reading list. I've been saying this for quite a while. I think we were able to capture this in our 9th grade math games we have been working on.
Re: Stop teaching calculating; Start teaching math
#5I'm a bit concerned, as the article doesn't seem to cleanly define--and this may be just poor reading on my part--whether the idea is to use computers to expand math education (say, for solving large and complex problems), or to supplant entirely the teaching of calculation.
It would seem to me that being able to perform basic arithmetic and algebra, by hand, is sort of a simple skill I would expect everyone to do. Computers are amazing devices, but not being proficient in doing those operations yourself when a computer or calculator is unavailable is not so good.
Re: Stop teaching calculating; Start teaching math
#6It's sad how many people think that math is arithmetic, and that if we let kids use computers or calculators then they're not "doing math". Not just the general public but PTA leaders, school board members, and school administrators.
Re: Stop teaching calculating; Start teaching math
#7I think he argues from the wrong point. Yes, we need to teach math, not
calculating. No, the argument is not "because we can do calculating with
computers today". Lockhart got it right in his famous lament - the problem is
that we face a system of self-sustaining bullshit that actually thinks it's
teaching math.
My guess is that Conrad Wolfram probably plans to conveniently also sell the accompanying software for this new education, which would make it natural for him to focus on this point. I actually agree that computers can help us educate people better, and that we need to create appropriate software for this. But my concern would then be that such software must be free/libre. No compromise. We cannot risk the education of future generations to be locked into $corporation's proprietary products.
Re: Stop teaching calculating; Start teaching math
#8Enjoyed skimming your article. If only more geeks actually wanted to teach kids... unfortunately most of us will only be able to do that once we've retired!
If I went back into education for 2 more years, piled more student debt on top of myself, not to mention living like a student again, PLUS having to have a part-time job while studying (while the loan is bigger for a PGCE, the costs of living are much much higher), and then got a job as a teacher, worked my ass off for 10 years, I would, if I was lucky, be earning the same salary I am today, a couple of years after leaving university.
Sounds like a great fucking deal to me.
Re: Stop teaching calculating; Start teaching math
#9Of course, his main point is to advocate for using computers to teach and learn math; he's selling Mathematica/Wolfram Alpha.
But this is dangerous and a little shallow. And here is why.
Math is the language of science; just like a C -- or any other programming language -- is a language of computing; just like English is a language of humans.
There are many ways to learn a language, but I think they all have something in common. You have to spend a lot of time learning, reading and writing. The writing is quite important. You have to write the language to be good at it.
The thing about math is that currently to write as it is supposed to look like can only be done most conveniently on paper. Writing a math formula in Mathematica or Wolfram alpha requires a latex-like mini language, another thing to learn, and can be disrupting.
This fact alone means that computers can only supplement; and they can be an excellent supplement. But it can not replace doing math by hands, on papers, particularly for those who are learning this new language.
Re: Stop teaching calculating; Start teaching math
#10I think he argues from the wrong point. Yes, we need to teach math, not calculating. No, the argument is not "because we can do calculating with computers today". Lockhart got it right in his famous lament - the problem is that we face a system of self-sustaining bullshit that actually thinks it's teaching math. My guess is that Conrad Wolfram probably plans to conveniently also sell the accompanying software for thi…
I recently had the experience of helping a young algebra student with her homework. She is very bright and is in an accelerated math program that teaches algebra in the 7th grade.
However, it was so disappointing to see the curriculum. I was in the same accelerated program 15 years ago and the curriculum hadn't changed a bit. It was still vague and unhelpful. They sent her home for the summer with a large packet of problems to solve without any explanation how to solve them.
I majored in math and I still had to guess at what the worksheets were asking the student to do. They used vague variables and were essentially just teaching rote memorization. It reminded me of my own confusion in mathematics when I was growing up, how one year a variable would mean one thing and the next year it would mean something else. "Solve and explain," means just as little to me now, using math on a daily basis, as it did to the 11 year old version of me.
After so many years, it would have been nice to see the curriculum focus more on application of mathematics and less on how to memorize and calculate.