Nancy Sattler wrote:
> Maybe we should collect information and do a study?
> Nancy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-mathedcc@archives.math.utk.edu
> [mailto:owner-mathedcc@archives.math.utk.edu]On Behalf Of Lindsey, Dr.
> Charles
> Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 1999 9:12 AM
> To: mathedcc@archives.math.utk.edu
> Subject: RE: [MATHEDCC] Why Johnny can't read.
>
> Another anecdote: several years ago, I was teaching two sections of Calculus
> I one semester, and I decided to try an experiment. In one class i spent the
> usual one or two full days going over these problems; in the other I did one
> example and assigned everything else for homework. Result? no significant
> difference in test performance.
>
> Now, this was not a carefully controlled experiment, but it does suggest an
> interesting hypothesis: that the "point of diminishing returns" for class
> time spent on these type of problems is reached very quickly. Those that
> will get it, will get it after one or two examples; those that don't, will
> most likely not become proficient even if you spend a month on it. If true,
> this has significant implications for the way we conduct our classes.
>
> I have a second hypothesis that the difference between the groups correlates
> closely with *general* reading comprehension skills (as opposed to the
> specific tactics that we teach for word problems), but have not tested this
> yet. I think these hypotheses would make a good dissertation topic for some
> erstwhile grad student in education...
>
> Chuck Lindsey, Ph.D. clindsey@fgcu.edu
> Director of General Education
> Associate Professor and Program Leader, Mathematics
> Florida Gulf Coast University
> 10501 FGCU Blvd South
> Fort Myers, FL 33965-6565
> Phone: (941) 590-7168 FAX: (941) 590-7200
> http://itech.fgcu.edu/faculty/clindsey
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Bret Taylor [SMTP:bret@IAG.NET]
> > Sent: Monday, October 25, 1999 9:42 PM
> > To: mathedcc@archives.math.utk.edu
> > Subject: [MATHEDCC] Why Johnny can't read.
> >
> > Anybody remember that book? Popular about 25 years ago.
> >
> > Well, I'm gonna write a sequel: Why Johnny can't do math.
> >
> > And the reason will be, Johnny can't read.
> >
> > I've been reading with interest some of the wonderful posts here that were
> > spawned with the thread started a few days ago. Vern, Martha, and several
> > others (sorry, I don't remember all the names) have made very good points
> > about students seeming lack of ability and desire to do any critical
> > thinking. And Martha mentioned that the problem may even get worse as the
> > level of math increases.
> >
> > Permit me to give another anecdotal stroy to support this. I'm teaching a
> > Calc I class. We are presently doing optimization problems. If the
> > students are given an equation they can (fairly well) find maxes, mins and
> > points of inflection and distinguish between them (algebraically and
> > graphically). But understanding what they mean with respect to a "real
> > world problem" is a completely different story. This class is having more
> > trouble than any other I have ever taught in finding the proper equation
> > to
> > model the problem.
> >
> > And today, one problem completely befuddled them. A standard max/min
> > problem: How long a pipe can be carroed down a hall that has a right
> > angle
> > in it. I told them to do it for homework. (We had spent two days on
> > applications problems in class.) One student asked me to work it today.
> > I
> > asked for help and no one had a clue. They saw the diagram in the book,
> > showing the pipe touching both outside walls of the hall and the inside
> > corner. They knew the length of pipe was a funciton of theta. But, the
> > problem asked to find the maximum lentgth of pipe. So, they wanted to
> > find
> > the length of pipe as a function of theta and then find the value of theta
> > that maximized the length. When I showed them that theta equalling 90
> > degrees or zero degrees the maximum length for the pipe was infinite, they
> > thought we had solved the problem and that it was a pretty stupid problem.
> > When I asked them to read the problem again and explain what was wrong
> > with
> > our thinking, they couldn't.
> >
> > I honestly believe the their problem was more a reading comprehension
> > problem than a mathematical comprehension problem. Not a single person in
> > the class could explain to me what the problem was actaully asking. Even
> > when I asked them if they had ever tried to move a piece of furniture (or
> > a
> > ladder or a bed frame) out of a room into a hall could they see this was
> > that type of problem, they had difficulty seeing it.
> >
> > We worked the problem, and they never really understood that the minimum
> > vlaue of the length of the pipe was the maximum length of pipe that could
> > be
> > carried down the hall and turn the corner.
> >
> > I've been using this type of problem for 15 years and don't ever remember
> > this much of a struggle trying to explain it before. I'm convinced the
> > problem is primarily a reading comprehension problem and also a lack of
> > desire to try and understand the problem. The problem said find the
> > maximum
> > length, so we had to find a relatvie maximum. Simple.
> >
> >
> >
> > Bret Taylor "It matters not the subject taught,
> > Lake-Sumter Community College nor all the books on all the shelves.
> > Leesburg, FL What matters more, yes most of all,
> > John 3:3^3+3 is what the teachers are themselves."
> > John Wooden
> >
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-- Jane Sieberth Franklin University 201 South Grant Avenue Columbus, OH 43215email: sieberth@franklin.edu phone: (614)341-6269 fax: (614)224-4025
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