There is a new post in The Atlantic about the program. The post concludes with an interview with a U. of Del. political science faculty member who opposes the new program and explains how much is required to pass muster at U. of Del. and have a program. He says, “…The senate gives careful review […]
What does it mean to “learn calculus”
October 7, 2013 by
In a recent post, Calculus on the Road, I pointed out that studnts who didn’t know the definition of a derivative were making good grades in their calculus class. So what does “learning calculus” mean? At some “elite” schools it doesn’t mean knowing any formal definition of a limit (part of the definition of a derivative). For […]
Calculus on the Road
October 5, 2013 by
I’m sitting in a Starbucks in NorthCarolina next to three young community college students who are studying calculus on a Saturday morning. They were nice enough to answer my two questions. The fist was “What is the definition of the derivative?” Two said they don’t know, then one said it is a rate. I pressed him […]
UPenn Vice-Provost Encourages More Tests But There is a Rub.
September 26, 2013 by
Prof Emanuel, Vice Provost and Professor at the Univ. of Penn., has a nice article on testing in The New Republic http://www.newrepublic.com/article/114793/american-schools-need-more-testing-not-less He has a good idea. But will it really be testing when put into practice? I directed his readers to my article. Here is what I wrote. “As someone who taught mathematics for […]
Is The Atlantic Right to Report on a Report the Way it Did?
September 25, 2013 by
I previously commented on an article about a paper by the president of Northwestern, Northwestern President Publishes Study About Northwestern And the National Bureau of Economic Research Publishes It? The paper apparently is getting lots of publicity and The Atlantic published a second post on it, http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/09/are-tenured-professors-really-worse-teachers-a-lit-review/279940/#comments I don’t agree with some of the reporter’s […]
Community Colleges Work to Keep Students – Maybe Danger Ahead?
September 20, 2013 by
There is an informative article in the WSJ, Community Colleges Try to Revamp Image to Keep Students In Bid to Boost Graduation Rates, Schools Add Housing and Other Perks http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323342404579081201987159562.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5#articleTabs%3Darticle Their approach may be ok, but I wrote that I worry, since “The shortest path to more graduation is littered with less education. That’s the path […]
Good Short Article in The Atlantic with Informative Table.
Here is the link to the article http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/09/americas-wasteful-higher-education-spending-in-a-chart/280130/#comments Here is my comment: “Just read what Bill Gross, the billionare bond investor of Pimco wrote: “…Universities are run for the benefit of the adult establishment, both politically and financially, not students. To radically change the system and to question the sanctity of a college education would […]