Whit Ford

Mathematics and Multimedia Blog Carnival 15

Welcome to the 15th Mathematics and Multimedia Blog Carnival. According to Wolfram Alpha, the word “fifteen” is the 379th most common spoken word. It is also the age of most High School Sophomores. I invite you to lean on your caffeine and cuisine, then careen between the following keen carnival fifteen postings on your screen. Connections between…… Continue reading Mathematics and Multimedia Blog Carnival 15

Cost effective adult education: might it influence secondary education?

An article in The Washington Monthly titled “The College For-profits Should Fear” describes the founding and growth of Western Governors University. It uses an on-line model with some twists: Course credits based on assessments completed. If you pass the final assessment, you get credit for the course… even if you just took the initial course…… Continue reading Cost effective adult education: might it influence secondary education?

“Teacher” is an inaccurate title

People, both as children and adults, are constantly learning new things. The more actively engaged in the learning process they are, the more likely they are to learn something well and retain that knowledge. So what exactly is the person “teaching” a course doing? Their title implies that they are somehow loading knowledge into student brains.…… Continue reading “Teacher” is an inaccurate title

Scheduling for Curricular Depth and Challenge

An idea for scheduling changes that could make it easier to add greater depth to curriculum. By offering a series of “challenges” to students in a planned way, can we keep the work load sane while improving student outcomes?

Lecturing: There Are Better Ways ToTeach

Many widely used math textbooks seem written for a traditional “lecture-style” teacher. They can be challenging to teach from if you are trying to reduce time spent “talking at” the class.Some of the NSF-funded mathematics texts published over the past decade make it much easier for a teacher to avoid lecture mode, but:- from a…… Continue reading Lecturing: There Are Better Ways ToTeach

Integrating Mathematics With Other Subjects

Mathematics does not need to be taught in isolation, but can be taught in conjunction with other subjects. What might such an approach look like?

Game-like Engagement

A New York Times Magazine article titled “Games Theory” (September 19, 2010) mentioned some interesting points: – “going to school can and should be more like playing a game, which is to say it could be made more participatory, more immersive and also, well, fun.” – One way to “make school more relevant and engaging” to…… Continue reading Game-like Engagement

The Purpose of High School Mathematics

The 2011 Anja S. Greer Conference on Secondary School Mathematics at Phillips Exeter Academy provided many opportunities to hears others’ ideas about the purpose of our High School Mathematics Curriculum. Some of the statements I noted were (with apologies that none are exact quotes, and my lack of attribution on some): In life, not to mention just…… Continue reading The Purpose of High School Mathematics

Eight Attributes of Effective Activities, Problems, or Projects

A continuum of activity types are used in classrooms around the world. They range in duration from long (weeks or months) to short (seconds or minutes), from “projects” to “problems”. There are differing styles of activities, ranging from context-rich to almost context-free. There are also differing roles for activities in a curriculum: they can serve as…… Continue reading Eight Attributes of Effective Activities, Problems, or Projects

Re-thinking Our High School Math Curriculum

Nils Ahbel of Deerfield Academy gave a thought provoking presentation at the 2011 Anja S. Greer Conference on Secondary School Mathematics (held at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH) on the history and potential future of the American High School mathematics curriculum. The Prezi that he used to illustrate his talk can be found here. As I recall,…… Continue reading Re-thinking Our High School Math Curriculum

To Use A Textbook, Or Not?

An exploration of the advantages and disadvantages of teaching from a textbook versus not using one. It is not an easy decision, for many reasons.

Race To Nowhere: Conclusions

The movie “Race to Nowhere” provides much food for thought. While the homework loads and high stress levels shown in the movie no doubt exist in many school environments, I have not perceived them to the same degree in our community. Having said that, there are certainly some weeks of the year which are more stressful…… Continue reading Race To Nowhere: Conclusions

The Cost of Education

Making high quality educational services available at an affordable price per student is a challenging task. Consider the costs (in 2011) of offering one course at a school: Teacher Salary What is the market salary for a highly skilled teacher with good experience teaching a particular subject? The answer to this question usually depends on…… Continue reading The Cost of Education

Where’s the mistake?

I have started a separate blog devoted to helping students learn to find mistakes in worked problems (their own, or someone else’s). If this is of interest, check it out: http://mathmistakes.wordpress.com/ 7/17/11 Update: There can be great value in work that contains mistakes. Learning to catch your own mistakes is a critical life skill, as is…… Continue reading Where’s the mistake?

Standards Based Grading Trial

After reading a number of blog postings about Standards Based Grading (SBG), I tried a hybrid version of it during the Fall semester of 2010 in an Algebra I class and three Algebra II classes. What follows is a description of how I approached things, what worked, and what didn’t. Grading Policy Approximately 40% of…… Continue reading Standards Based Grading Trial