Subject: Re: Topic Appropriateness
From: Martin Flashman (mef2@humboldt.edu)
Date: Fri Sep 15 2000 - 15:33:40 EDT
Ok... I agree that these courses and the agenda that they support does not
match what I understand as the typical community college scenario. Without
much further on the nature of the partucular community college, it would
seem an extreme and not workable curriculum, one which an outsider would
have a hard time recognizing as appropriate for "the first two years of a
college program."
This being said, it should be recognized that at some four year colleges,
as atypical as it might seem, students arriving from high school
experiences that allowed rapid advancement in mathematics to the extent
that the students have taken 3 semesters of college level calculus plus
linear algebra could easily be exposed to some of the course listed in
their first two years in attendence at a four year college.
So the issue to some extent is whether those students should be
considered as students in the first two years of college.
Many students attend community colleges because of economic factors and
convenience rather than their need to work on developmental and
background courses. It is possible that in a large metropolitan area (e.g.
New York, San Francisco, etc., ) entering freshmen may have such advanced
course work in high school that they are in fact ready for "honors"
courses that would in the first two years touch on some of the material
listed. [I recall from my own experiences as a student at Brandeis
University that the honors calculus course did cover much of Spivak's
calculus on manifolds in the third semester!]
How should a two year community college deal with such "advanced"
students? Should it make arrangements for those students to take courses
elsewhere? Tell them to wait until the get to a four year college? Give
them independent studies?
I think that the issues at the particular college are best handled by
having an outside consultant visit to consider these matters and provide
some advise that might recognize and balance resources,
opportunities, and needs for both staff and students.
Just my HO.
from sunny Humboldt County, CA
Martin Flashman
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Martin Flashman * "Let's make math more visual. *
Department of Mathematics * Let's make calculus sensible. *
Humboldt State University * Let's make change sensibly." *
Arcata, CA 95521 **********************************
EMAIL: mef2@axe.humboldt.edu Phone: 707-826-4950 (office/voice mail)
flashman@axe.humboldt.edu http://www.humboldt.edu/~mef2/ 707-826-3140 (FAX)
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