Sep 23 Reading

I first stopped when the influence of the Bourbaki group was discussed in the New Math Movement. The idea of introducing abstract algebra, calculus, proof, set theory, etc. and the high school level is an interesting one, but the exclusion of the use of diagrams and geometry feels like it would miss what I’ve experienced to be useful intruments in the development of my own understanding of mathematics. I laughed when they discussed the implementation. Of course, math teachers don’t know how to teach real analysis to high school students. First, they probably know very little real and analysis and secondly, they’re expected to teach it to students who have hardly developed whte algebraic skills necessary to study such a topic from a classical perspective. This implies the teachers were demanded in developing an entirely new method of teaching an advanced subject!

 

I next stopped during the discussion of the involvement of the right-wing evangelistic Christian religious lobby groups. This steered any conservatism into associating with such groups, developing massive amounts of polarization on the topic. I think this is a great example of how media can exacerbate polarization, preventing productive debate. Anyone who may be (correctly) in support of a more conservative approach on a specific topic will never be heard and immediately associated with having extremist political views. 

 

Finally, I was excited about the idea that studies showed that a “deeper conceptual understanding of mathematics was key to success in international rankings.” This makes me feel optimistic about my teaching goals around developing relational understanding over instrumental understanding, and to take that responsibility on in both my teaching and assessment styles (Of course it’s easy for any math teacher to teach and assess instrumental understanding, while the outsider does not realize it’s how they’re teaching. Thus, the onus is on the teacher to take the responsibility of teaching relational understanding). 

Sketching measurements at work - Applying the how and why of math!