Comments on: Moving Math from Analog to Digital http://teachingcollegemath.com/2009/07/moving-math-from-analog-to-digital/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=moving-math-from-analog-to-digital Fri, 18 May 2012 02:34:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Derek http://teachingcollegemath.com/2009/07/moving-math-from-analog-to-digital/comment-page-1/#comment-792 Derek Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:28:57 +0000 http://teachingcollegemath.com/?p=1168#comment-792 I think of all those English and history majors who have to take a math course and take calculus because that's what the thing to do is. Then later in life they say things like, "I hated calculus in college" or "What was any of that calculus good for?" Not to say that calculus instruction couldn't be improved to avoid students saying things like that down the road, but I think statistics lends itself more readily to applications that have some relevance to students' lives and careers. In my everyday life, I find myself interpreting events through the lens of statistics far more often than I do through the lens of calculus. I think that stats lens helps me understand how things work, and I would want my students to benefit from that lens. I think of all those English and history majors who have to take a math course and take calculus because that’s what the thing to do is. Then later in life they say things like, “I hated calculus in college” or “What was any of that calculus good for?”

Not to say that calculus instruction couldn’t be improved to avoid students saying things like that down the road, but I think statistics lends itself more readily to applications that have some relevance to students’ lives and careers.

In my everyday life, I find myself interpreting events through the lens of statistics far more often than I do through the lens of calculus. I think that stats lens helps me understand how things work, and I would want my students to benefit from that lens.

]]> By: Maria H. Andersen http://teachingcollegemath.com/2009/07/moving-math-from-analog-to-digital/comment-page-1/#comment-789 Maria H. Andersen Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:39:05 +0000 http://teachingcollegemath.com/?p=1168#comment-789 @ed Someone pointed out that exact thing in the comments. :) @ed Someone pointed out that exact thing in the comments. :)

]]> By: j edward ladenburger http://teachingcollegemath.com/2009/07/moving-math-from-analog-to-digital/comment-page-1/#comment-788 j edward ladenburger Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:36:44 +0000 http://teachingcollegemath.com/?p=1168#comment-788 good grief ... I'll go look at the comment thread, but you need calculus to develop statistics -- his comment is almost like opening a discrete vs continuous battle in mathematics and I frankly think it quite silly to stress one in favor of another when discussing a general math curriculum "for all" ... good grief … I’ll go look at the comment thread, but you need calculus to develop statistics — his comment is almost like opening a discrete vs continuous battle in mathematics and I frankly think it quite silly to stress one in favor of another when discussing a general math curriculum “for all” …

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