tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1345020366927281139.post6463653840048137047..comments2023-12-19T02:51:22.715-06:00Comments on Rebel with a cause: Band-aids and crutchesKathleen Almyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17936761522152866484noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1345020366927281139.post-72872683093163073962010-07-08T15:30:48.977-05:002010-07-08T15:30:48.977-05:00You nailed it as far as this struggle we're al...You nailed it as far as this struggle we're always in: authentic learning vs. covering content. It seems like we have to cover so many things "just in case" they ever need them but just in case doesn't happen that often. And the core stuff that we gloss over, mathematical thinking and judgment, is needed near daily! <br /><br />Have you looked at CRAFTY? http://www.maa.org/cupm/crafty/ There's been some work done to reinvent college algebra and put more modeling in it. There's also something called "The Right Stuff" that was developed by Rob Kimball through an NSF grant. It's a whole host of investigations for college algebra. <br /><br />I'd like to develop a new colege algebra course at RVC that's an alternative with a more modeling/applied focus. Once Heather and I get this MLCS course off the ground, we want to look at a follow-up.Kathleen Almyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17936761522152866484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1345020366927281139.post-31020896252194762092010-07-07T14:07:18.863-05:002010-07-07T14:07:18.863-05:00This ties in perfectly with an issue that is comin...This ties in perfectly with an issue that is coming up in the PLS class I am taking this summer. The class is about using interactive multimedia projects for student learning.<br /><br />What I've read seems to say that good projects have to be broad enough for students to really investigate on their own and make new discoveries.<br /><br />This makes total sense to me. One of my original ideas concerned students constructing a mathematical model to describe a set of data and then use the model to make predictions.<br /><br />I wonder now if that is a little too specific. Maybe I need to have students do something like investigate global warming. How can we decide if it is really happening? Can mathematics (and model building) help us make that decision?<br /><br />However, now my worry becomes whether having students complete a project like this will mean that we cannot complete all the course objectives. There is SO MUCH we are "supposed" to cover in a College Algebra class. And yet shouldn't my focus be on real learning, and what mathematics can do for us (and maybe whether there are things it CANNOT do for us)?Mike Weldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672691738298653309noreply@blogger.com