In Teaching Math, the Concrete Cannot Take the Place of the Abstract
And now we move on to a study — on the same Website, Science Daily, as yesterday’s post — that seems to contradict the “Do …
Logic
A Cardinal Value of Teaching Proof in Geometry
Teaching proof in geometry allows students to learn the process of reduction: a process of “reverse-engineering” an induction. Starting with a geometric theorem and tracing …
Case Study: How to Analyze and Understand Factual Claims
In his post “ABC’s big meal propadanda,” Dr. Eades dismantles a nutritional Trojan Horse. ABC tries to present us disinformation and ideas that, contrary to …
Public School Graduation Rate
Mary Flood, in “Diploma rate: ‘A crisis of graduation’ ” (Houston Chronicle, May 22, 2009, 8:50PM), presents some statistics: As thousands of Houston-area high school …
On Thinking
“Naturally, we begin by thinking, by asking ourselves questions and endeavoring to answer them.” (p. 101, Writing and Thinking by Norman Foerster and J.M. Steadman, …
In Thinking, Dig Deep
“A little learning is a dang’rous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring: There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, And drinking largely sobers …
Geometry As It Can Be and Should Be Taught
Geometry is too perfect a subject not to teach logic in. It is wrong not to. An education without proof in geometry is a poor …
Sprints: Do the Experiment
As Galileo said — following the lead and philosophy of Aristotle, who said to appeal to first principles and to the evidence of the senses …
Learning From Thomas Edison
In “Thomas Edison Lit Up America With His Bright Ideas” (Investor’s Business Daily, 5-21-09, 5:53 PM ET), Marilyn Alva said: Though Edison’s top achievements were …
On Hierarchy in Education
Here is an excerpt from an email I wrote: The general idea of developing the hierarchy of a subject or concept is critical. Take even …