<snip>
> my personal opinion is that the problem lies in the way we teach
> our elementary and intermediate algebra courses -- very rote,
> drill-skill, a rehash of high school, taught in large measure by
> adjucnts who are high school teachers. our college algebra has
> always been more substantial with expectations of problem solving
> and applications. this is always going to give the kids fits,
> regardless of where in the curriculum they first encounter it.
<snip>
> ... remedy this by requiring a lot of writing (what exactly is a
> linear function and how can you tell it apart from a quadratic
> function?) and by doing a lot of group projects with multi-step
> formats. ...
<snip>
Surely many (?most) of us who have taught algebra at pre-college and at
college level have reactions similar to Anne's. A partial solution is to
introduce techniques of problem solving at the earliest (even
pre-algebra) levels. In problem solving, determining *what* needs to be
done precedes the challenge of *how* to do it.
Yes, there is already too little time to establish mastery of techniques,
but we either invest the precious time early in the algebra sequence or we
must do it later. A little understanding of why and when makes up for a
small lack of how.
IMHO, we should assign some of the technical stuff, such as simplifying
multiply-nested parentheses, factoring trinomials, and manipulating
radicals, as extra credit work. Spend class time exploring possible ways
to model a variety of reality-based situations with functions. Ask your
students to bring problems from their own experience that *might* relate
to algebra. You might find interesting material for the current semester
or the next.
matthewg@aurora.sunyocc.edu
George E. Matthews, Onondaga Community College, Syracuse, NY13215
(315) 469-2381
PS Jack Rotman's comments in a later posting suggest the possibility that
some schools may even be offering a "College" Algebra that is little more
than an "Advanced" Intermediate Algebra. In some cases, this is a
deliberate way to motivate (through granting credit) the learning of
necessary foundational skills. In other cases, it may be a "watering"
down of a "Precalculus" course to a level accessible to entering students.
I don't pretend to have the answers, but IMHO all math courses (noncredit
or credit) should be offered by one MATH department in each school. And
ways should be found to place students at the highest level at which they
have a chance of success. The old notion of the spiral curriculum in
which important ideas are introduced early and developed at higher levels
in subsequent courses seems eminently workable to me.
Agree or disagree, no flame wars please! :-)
****************************************************************************
* To post to the list: email mathedcc@archives.math.utk.edu *
* To unsubscribe, send mail to: majordomo@archives.math.utk.edu *
* In the mail message, enter ONLY the words: unsubscribe mathedcc *
* Words in the Subject: line are NOT processed! *
* Archives at http://archives.math.utk.edu/hypermail/mathedcc/ *
****************************************************************************