You make good points, and I agree with most. (Except that at least among
my peers a generation ago--no, make that two generations ago--nearly
everyone would have been able to do the 25% thing pretty routinely).
My point is not that we don't know HOW to do it; it's that so many of us
teachers DON'T do it, and it's really, really difficult to keep students
from misusing them. (Too, I'm not very confident that we math folk are of
a single mind about what constitutes misuse.)
John M. Flanigan <johnf@hawaii.edu> The equation is the final arbiter.
Assistant Professor, Mathematics --Werner Heisenberg
Kapi'olani Community College The scoreboard is the final arbiter.
4303 Diamond Head Road --Bill Walton
Honolulu HI 96816 History is the final arbiter.
(808) 734-9371 --Edward Gibbon
On Mon, 25 Oct 1999, Jeff Morford wrote:
> Well, of course we should develop curriculums that use technology
> appropriately. A recent post tells you what to do. Develop a
> curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking. But, center it around
> technology and use the howitzer to blow things up (to continue an
> analogy of another author), not kill flies.
>
> I'm reminded, however, of an article in Reader's Digest a couple years
> back. A father is rightfully appalled that his daughter cannot find
> 25% of a number without using a calculator. He blames the calculator.
> I cannot help that think a generation ago she would not have been able
> to find 25% of a number using any method- lacking her "howitzer".
> Good curriculum and good teaching with technology improves
> understanding of mathematics. But, I don't think that bad teaching
> with technology is any worse than ordinary bad teaching.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jeff Morford
>
> *************************************
> Jeff Morford
> Henry Ford Community College
> 5101 Evergreen Road
> Dearborn, Michigan 48128
> 313-317-4046
> FAX 313-317-4089
> http://adm.hfcc.net/~jmorford/
> *************************************
>
>
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