I recently watched the following video on Ted Talks….
The speaker was Conrad Wolfram, and he speaks about how we need to stop teaching calculation in math, but instead use computers. His theory is that there are 4 steps in teaching and making math engaging for students, and those steps are:
1. Posing the right questions
2. Converting the real world problem to a math formulation
3. Computation
4. Then converting the math formulation back to the real world for verification.
He believe that we should be using the students for 1, 2, and 4, but that we should be teaching them how to use computers for the computation part. I am easily persuaded by good speakers, however I am not so sure that I agree with this. I come from a farming family, where my husband is a cash cropper, and is part owner of a farm supply. Him and I discuss often how important math computation skills are important in his sector of the world, and I can only assume that it is not only the farming world that needs people that can compute WITHOUT COMPUTERS!
I agree and disagree. Realistically, it makes sense that everyone should have a good grasp of simple math because it's applicable in everyday life. I had a real shocker when I tutored a student and found that they were enamored with their calculator even for easy math. However, so much of what I learned in math is done in conjunction with computers. Is it fair for us to make students learn derivations before they learn the shortcuts of how to complete a problem? Some might argue that the derivations help us understand the subject so the solution isn't just mechanical. I believe both sides of the story have value, but think that the argument should hinge on the complexity of the math.
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