Congress math (& civics) deficits

What can we understand from this stunning performance by Jared Polis (D-CO) in the debate on the House floor (July 28, 2011)?: 2½ minutes were yielded to Polis so he could present prepared remarks, equiped with a neatly-printed three-color chart showing yields and interest rates paid by countries rated AAA vs. AA. The bottom line […]

Hake on responsibility for math/sci education of math/sci teachers

The question then becomes: ARE U.S. UNIVERSITY MATH & SCIENCE DEPARTMENTS *PARTIALLY* RESPONSIBLE FOR U.S. STUDENTS’ RELATIVELY POOR SHOWING ON THE PISA-2006 MATH & SCIENCE TESTS? Judging from the appalling low pre-to-post test normalized gains for traditional passive-student courses in astronomy, geoscience, math, and physics, the answer may be YES.

U Penn prof: “Down with fractions!”

PHILADELPHIA — A few years ago, Dennis DeTurck, an award-winning professor of mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania, stood at an outdoor podium on campus and proclaimed “Down with fractions!” “Fractions have had their day, being useful for by-hand calculation,” DeTurck said as part of a 60-second lecture series. “But in this digital age, they’re […]

Texas forebodings: textbooks and science standards

Although the specific textbooks involved this time were in elementary mathematics, the broader concern here is that, if the Board is allowed to get away with rejecting textbooks without and explanation, they could use that practice to censor textbooks for ideological reasons in controversial areas such as teaching about evolution in biology.