Re: [MATHEDCC] L.A. Times article

Sandy Wagner (sandyw@best.com)
Thu, 01 Apr 1999 12:41:16 -0800

Janet, that is a very good point about what students prefer. I have seen
the same reaction. Math manipulations, if one can do them, are very
comforting and safe. Your point that applications are not the answer
depends on what the question is. If the question is, "will all students
prefer to learn through applications", the answer is 'no.' If the question
is, "what should I be teaching to these students" then there would be an
entirely different (and much more difficult to implement) answer.
-Sandy

At 01:05 PM 04/01/99 -0500, you wrote:
>While I am not a big fan of teaching factoring, I do see its usefulness. I
must agree with Tony that using applications does not make the math more
accessible to students. I teach a intermediate algebra level math class
that is all applications. My students regularly complain that they wish we
could do just "plain math". Some students who tell me they have "always
been good at math" really struggle with the applications because they are
not the plug and chug type of math they are used to.
>
>
>Janet Mays
>Math Instructor
>Guilford Technical Comm. Coll
>Jamestown, NC
>
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