Xref: utzoo comp.edu:4266 sci.math:17149 sci.misc:4981
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!ukma!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!ysub!psuvm!cunyvm!ndsuvm1!plains!kurtze
From: kurtze@plains.NoDak.edu (Douglas Kurtze)
Newsgroups: comp.edu,sci.math,sci.misc
Subject: Re: Subtle Math Questions
Message-ID: <10060@plains.NoDak.edu>
Date: 30 Apr 91 15:55:35 GMT
References: <2731@ttardis.UUCP> <1991Apr24.142835.26475@mccc.edu>
Organization: North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND
Lines: 24

In article <1991Apr24.142835.26475@mccc.edu> pjh@mccc.edu (Pete Holsberg) writes

>I think you'll find that the majority of primary and secondary school
>math teachers do not get their math education from a college's math
>department in "regular" math courses but either from a regular college's
>math department's special math courses for wannabes, OR from the math
>departments of teachers colleges!!  :-(  In either case, the students
>are not expected to learn much math at all.  (My ex-wife is now a HS
>math teacher and her education matches the "ed major" model implied above.)

This is a strong argument for mathematicians to get involved in research on how
students (at whatever level) learn mathematics, how to present concepts, what
misconceptions exist, etc.  The results could then feed into the courses for
wannabes, who could then learn the mathematics they need AND how to teach it.
The latter would, of course, require that they understand thoroughly the
material they are about to teach.  It's unlikely that they will get that in an
education course, without deep involvement of mathematicians.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Doug Kurtze                   kurtze@plains.NoDak.edu
Physics, North Dakota State

"Patience is its own reward" -- Flann O'Brien
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^