Teach Effectively!

This was a tough one to develop. Thanks to many suggestions from colleagues, however, we have a new opportunity to waste time.

 Loading ...

To see the results of the previous poll, take a look at the original posting of it.

As with previous Bogus Bowls, please remember that the results of these polls do not provide credible scientific evidence; they simply reflect the opinions of the respondents. Also, note that some of the choices that got few votes in a poll might just re-appear in a future BB on Teach Effectively!; mayhaps we’ll have a challenge bowl about which was the most bogus question, too.

To see the results of all Bogus Bowls and other polls from Teach Effectively, please follow the link labeled “polls” in the top navigation element. Meanwhile, I welcome suggestions for topics for future Bogus Bowls. Just drop ‘em in the comments.

Bogus Bowl III is closing and Bogus Bowl IV is about to open. Click here to vote in (or see the results of) BB III; voting is open until about 5:00 AM (US East Coast) 11 June. The new poll will appear in a post 11 June just after BB III closes.

This time the folks at “Weapons of Math Destruction” have raised the spectre of the Follow Through study of early education models. The cartoon characters (has a ring to it, doesn’t it?) are examining a graph showing the results of a comparison of alternative models of instruction.
Continue reading ‘WMD on FT’

Yep, those folks at “Weapons of Math Destruction” apparently do not find constructivist approaches to teaching arithmetic and mathematics palatable. In this cartoon, the school administrators have crossed out practice and skills and a parent is responding by preparing to (ahem) regurgitate or recovering from having regurgitated.

Follow this link to get to the full site where you can explore at your leisure.

Those clever folks over at Weapons of Math Destruction have stuck yet again with another witty take-down of mal-education in the mathematics area.

As much as I like this one, I think the image of the face for the child “on fuzzy math” should be different. I see fuzzy math and its cousins as resulting more in happy witlessness. That’s the idea: Make it fun and engaging; students’ll just figure it out magically…re-discovering everything from counting through Archimedian insights and onto the calculus. Shouldn’t those kids be smiling?

For those outside the US who are not familiar with the brain-vs-brain-on theme incorporated into this cartoon, here’s a hint: There was an advertisement that first appeared in the 1980s showing a man holding a chicken egg and saying “This is your brain,” then cracking the egg into a frying pan and saying, “This is your brain on drugs.” Here’s a link to a Wikipedia entry about the brain-on-drugs advertisement.

Oh Well…off to a thumbnail catalog from Weapons of Math Destruction for the big version of this cartoon.

O.K, folks, here’s a second installment in the Bogus Bowl. Bogus Bowl I will close Saturday night (9 Feb 08), so jump over there (click on “polls” in the top navigation element) and vote in the first one if you’ve not done so already. Then come back here and vote on this one…. Or vice versa.

In this one, we’re examing reasons that educators give for shirking what I’ve sometimes called the “instructional obligation.” It’s your chance to consider alternative rationales for not teaching.
Continue reading ‘Bogus Bowl II’

O.K, folks. Here’s your chance to vote for the first competitors in the Bogus Bowl. There are so many educational reforms that it’ll be hard to find the differences among them, but let’s start by considering these. Once we get some data about them, then we’ll match the winners (and the losers) from this competition with other reforms from other brackets.
Continue reading ‘The bogus reform bowl’

Well, as regular readers know, I sometimes check on the cartoons at Weapons of Math Destruction. I learned about this one yesterday. It’s about some fellows discussing an exorcism of a crazy character who maintains that students do not need to learn multiplication tables.

I have actually heard some mathematics educators contend that students should learn mathematics without reference to numbers. I can imagine how that’s possible, but I sure have a hard time understanding why it’s wise, let alone practical.

The image is linked to it, but you can get to the original on WMD from here, too.