The Loony Bin
(
loonies@bloodaxe.demon.co.uk
)
Sun, 17 Nov 1996 19:35:42 +0000
Hiya People... Here's some math for you... Wishes & Dreams... - ANDREA xx *************<andrea@bloodaxe.demon.co.uk>************* *****<ajc6@ukc.ac.uk>*****<bloodaxe@geocities.com>***** *** *** *** THE LOONY BIN *** *** loonies@bloodaxe.demon.co.uk *** *** Archive: http://eleceng.ukc.ac.uk/~pjw/loonies/ *** *** *** *******************Internet Goddess******************** **********************ANDROMEDA************************ ------- Forwarded foolishness follows ------- How Math Teaching Has Changed (or why Students can't add or subtract) ---------------------------------------- Take a simple math problem, subject it to 30 years of new, improved teaching methods, and deduce the formula to yield our average yearly drop in SAT scores. In 1960: "A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of this price. What is his profit? In 1970: (traditional math) "A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of this price; in other words, $80. What is his profit? In 1970: (new Math) " A logger exchanges a set of L of lumber for a set M of money. The cardinality of set M is 100, and each element is worth $1. Make one hundred dots representing the elements of the set M. The set C of costs of production contains 20 fewer points than set M. Represent the set C as a subset of M, and answer the following question: What is the cardinality of the set P of profits? In 1980: " A logger sells a truckload of wood for $100. His cost of production is $80, and his profit is $20. Your assignment is to underline the number 20." In 1990: "By cutting down beautiful forest trees, a logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making money? Topic for class participation: How did the forest birds and squirrels feel?