Re: [MATHEDCC] California

Edward Laughbaum (elaughba@MATH.OHIO-STATE.EDU)
Tue, 9 Dec 1997 08:17:48 -0500 (EST)

At 02:02 AM 12/9/97 -0700, A MATHEDCC Private Respondent wrote:
>Ed,
>
>A very short comment about the California "Back to Basics" standard for
>math, concerning the comment:
>
>>"They voted instead for standards that call for California's public
>>school students to memorize multiplication tables in third grade and
>>master the age-old routines of borrowing and carrying while adding and
>>subtracting. Long division, a skill that some educators believe is
>>obsolete in an age of calculators, would once again become a staple
>>starting in the fourth grade."
>
>Long division is exactly the process one uses when dividing one polynomial
>by another.

THIS IS THE CASE ONLY IF THE ALGORITHM USED IN THE FOURTH GRADE IS THE ONE
USED TO DIVIDE POLYNOMIALS IN ALGEBRA. I SUSPECT NOT ALL STUDENTS LEARNED
THE ONE YOU ARE USING. WITH THE TI-83 OR 86 STUDENTS CAN DIVIDE A POLYNOMIAL
BY A LINEAR BINOMIAL USING THE LIST FEATURE AND THE SYNTHETIC DIVISION
ALGORITHM.

ED

>I have taught the intermediate algebra course at AIMS Community College here
>in Loveland Colorado. The course is essentially 2nd-year high-school
>algebra. Division of polynomials is one of the few skills I don't have to
>spend much time on, because the students remember their long division drills.
>
>Since they already know the mechanics, they can concentrate on the other
>stuff concerned with division of polynomials (I hesitate to say they can
>concentrate on "understanding the principles" involved. Most of them haven't
>a clue - but that's another discussion.)
Edward D. Laughbaum
The Ohio State University
Department of Mathematics
231 West 18th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
Associate Director, The Ohio State University Technology College Short
Course Program
Associate Director, Ohio Early Mathematics Placement Testing Program
Emeritus Professor of Mathematics
(O) (614) 292-7223 or (614) 292-9504
(FAX) (614) 292-0694
http://www.math.ohio-state.edu/shortcourse
http://www.empt.org

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