Talk:Crowdsourcing to Improve Education





Comment by David Moursund 1/8/2009
In the first week after a mass mailing to the IAE Newsletter list, a surprisingly few responses have been received. Perhaps the "how to improve education" is not a good topic for Crowdsourcing?

Comment by David Moursund 1/11/2009
I find the comments quoted from Steven Leinwand's Education Week article to be quite interesting. However, consider thethe following paragraph from his article:


 * If we took this route, textbooks could be revamped to cut redundancy and add depth and balance between procedural and conceptual understanding. The recommended math standards could delineate sensible and reasonable expectations for students at each grade level and in each course. Curriculum sequences and objectives could be crafted so that all students would reach key elements of algebra in 8th grade and leave high school with sufficient understanding of both calculus and statistics. These skills would help them thrive in the workplace and at postsecondary institutions. [Bold added for emphasis.]

What, prey tell, is meant by "leave high school with sufficient understanding of both calculus and statistics"? This is a bold statement that, to me, has no meaning. I ask myself, "Sufficient for what?" My mind focuses on the topic of calculus. I wonder what Leinwand has in mind as he thinks about high school students having a sufficient understanding of calculus?

As I continue to think about the calculus issue, my mind wanders to the math preparation and understanding of elementary school teachers. The typical elementary school teacher of math has graduated from college, taken a year of college math, and taken a math methods course. I wonder what would constitute a sufficient understanding of calculus for these teachers? How would this sufficient understanding be incorporated into and used as they help elementary school students learn math?

As we examine the results of our current elementary school math education system, can we see major flaws due to many elementary school teachers not having a sufficient understanding of calculus? Might typical elementary school teachers have other, far more important deficits in their understanding of math?

For example, what is their understanding of calculators and computers in math? What should students be learning about math in a world where calculators and computers are ubiquitous?

Aha! Perhaps we should not worry whether high school graduates have a "sufficient" understanding of calculus. How about defining what would constitute a sufficient understanding of calculators and computers as an aid to representing and solving math problems and math-related problems?"

Here, I feel more comfortable in criticizing our current educational system. The math-related capabilities of calculators and computers are increasing far more rapidly than our success in integrating such capabilities into the math curriculum.