Re: [MATHEDCC] Crossroads Workshops

Lynn Mack (mack@PED.TEC.SC.US)
Thu, 08 May 1997 14:16:43 -0400

Sandy Spears wrote:
>
> I have to jump in here again lest my comments be misinterpreted. I do believe
> in graphing calculators and I wholeheartedly agree with what Ed and Martha have
> said. Part of the problem with this discussion was brought out by Ed when he sa
> id that the goal of the standards includes using technology with a reformed
> curriculum. When we discuss Intermediate Algebra we are not all talking about
> the same course and so of course our responses are going to be different in
> some respects just because our courses are different. I agree that learning
> algorithms is not learning mathematics, in and of itself, but learning which
> buttons to push (and even if you don't teach it this way, there are students
> who will chose to learn it this way because they don't know how to learn it
> any other way) is not learning mathematics either. As the standards say, we
> need both and there is room for both. I also know that because a student goes
> through a process one or two times does not necessarily mean he/she has ownersh
>
> ip of the the idea behind it. Both require some repetition. Everything we
> learn in life requires some repetition. Students will forget how to solve an
> equation graphically just like they forget how to solve one with paper and
> pencil. However, by doing both they get a better understanding of what the
> solving is all about. And by doing some "real world" applications they will
> get a better understanding of why they should learn this stuff in the first
> place. Sorry for being long winded.
>
> Sandy Spears
> Coordinator, Mathematics Program
> Jefferson Community College
> 109 E. Broadway
> Louisville, KY 40202
> 584-0181, ext. 2269
> sspea1@ukcc.uky.edu
> ****************************************************************************
> * 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/ *
> ****************************************************************************

I also must jump in here to make a suggestion and provide
some focus on our students. I will quote a wonderful consultant
I have used for the ATE project I co-direct in South Carolina,
Richard Felder(Professor of Chemical Engineering at North Carolina
State Univ.) states "Effective education teacher to students'
learning style weaknesses as well as their strengths. Some
students tend to focus on facts, data, and algorithms; others
are more comfortable with theories and mathematical models. Some
respond strongly to visual forms of information, like pictures,
diagrams, and schematics; others get more form verbal forms--written
and spoken explanations. Some prefer to learn actively an interactively
others function more introspectively and individually.
Functioning effectively in any professional capacity, however, requires
working well in all learning style modes" ....(Key point for what
we are preparing our students to do---work in the real world!) a quote
from his paper "Matter of Style" published in the ASEE Prism, Dec 1996.
I would encourage you to visit his web site on effective teaching.
http://www2.ncsu.edu/effective.teaching/

I think we all must become more aware of how to reach our students
and prepare them for the fast changing technological world they
must survive in in the 21st Century and we must keep technology
in their hands and incorporate it as much as possible into our
content coverage.

Lynn Mack

****************************************************************************
* 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/ *
****************************************************************************