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From: kludge@grissom.larc.nasa.gov ( Scott Dorsey)
Newsgroups: comp.edu,sci.math,sci.misc,ut.general,uw.general,uw.math.grad,york.general
Subject: Re: Subtle Math Questions
Message-ID: <1991May2.192705.17581@news.larc.nasa.gov>
Date: 2 May 91 19:27:05 GMT
References: <2731@ttardis.UUCP> <1991Apr24.142835.26475@mccc.edu> <1991May1.192513.11714@watmath.waterloo.edu> <1991May2.133856.8338@psych.toronto.edu>
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In article <1991May2.133856.8338@psych.toronto.edu> grant@psych.toronto.edu (Stuart Grant) writes:
>Calling the education faculty math courses wimpy, and making math teachers
>take "regular" math courses is not the answer. The quality of math 
>instruction will improve if teachers are given more training in the 
>teaching of math. Teaching math is difficult, Motivating students and
>getting across abstract concepts that the students have not used before
>is, I believe, the greatest difficulty.
>
>So, I think math instruction can be best improved not by teaching the 
>teachers more math, but by giving them more teaching skills, including
>additinal training in how to teach math.  

   I think that teachers tend to teach math the way they have been taught
math.  Which means that teaching them properly in the first place and
giving them a good example is half the struggle.
--scott