Why Math Education Sucks in The US and How We Can Improve It, Hemant Mehta Skepticon 4

[8291link]

um um um um um but um but um um um but um....? Any questions?

[JogBird]

maff is hard

[zyxek]

Using Parks & Rec is definitely a valid teaching strategy.

[mdiem]

One of my part time jobs is math tutoring, and this is what I do everyday to repair the poor math instruction the students are learning is school.

[piprod01]

If the screen is square, how can the little square hit the corner?

Because the only way it could get in there, is if it was previously in the opposite corner.

And the only it could get in that corner is if it had previously been in the first corner.

D:

[mdiem]

@piprod01

But the screen isn't a square. If it is standard TV, then it will have a 4:3 aspect ratio. Some widescreen formats use 16:9, or whatever. Simple geometry can let you find either how many reflections (bounces) it will take to get to a corner, or calculate the probability of a random bounce making it to a corner.

[codeythesilent]

I feel like a genius now just because I understand math o_O

[Onetrueginge]

Bloody hell. In Britain, every maths exam that we do has maybe 2-3 multiple choice questions at the start and the rest is extended calculation, often involving some problem solving. Up till A-Level (16-18 years old typically), half of all tests were non-calculator. Hell, I got repeatedly told off for not showing my working as I'd just solve it in my head.

In the past couple of years, I've been sitting maths competition papers that while they are fill in the bubble, multiple choice, you need

[shellysunfish]

I want this guy as my math teacher! : )

[elmoloveftl]

The people trying to take flash pictures of the projection screen are the fair-haired children of the idiocracy. Some people will simply never have ANY common sense.

[michalchik]

When i went through math I stubbornly refused to just memorize things. Because of this I did poorly in grade school, better but not well in high school, and did well in college. Now I teach math and my students are astounded by the fact that when I teach it to them it makes sense and they remember it.

[ssyreeni]

Never did graduate from math. But damn I'm happy I at least went most of the way. What is being talked about here is the precise thing I try to inculcate on people every time we get to the subject: the math is not in the algorithms or the formulas, it's in the habits of thought. That's what gets you through everything but the nastiest research papers, without ever having laid an eye on the subject matter before. Being able to do that makes life tangibly easier.

[KarlPhys]

As a Physics teacher I always found that to ask my pupils what they understood about a particular idea was most productive. Then I could use their understanding to show the descrepencies of what they thought could lead to contradictions.

[lagerbaer]

At my university, there's an experimental physics course that focuses heavily on "Invention Activities" where students just open-endedly try to invent/figure out a formula, and even if it appears to be inefficient because they'll be wrong in most cases, it is highly effective in preparing them for future learning, and steer them away from the "equation hunting" mindset.

Good talk, really.

[integralmath]

It is not possible to conclude that the betting scheme was double each time from what was shown. Game 1, $25. Game 2, $50, but this was only suggested. The next shot at game x (which was actually the second game shown), $6400. There's insufficient information to establish the betting scheme, and thus no reason to suppose it was double or nothing each iteration. Meh.

[Mpromptu]

@integralmath They say in the clip that the betting is double or nothing...

[Ignorantf00l]

holy crap, we were NEVER allawed to use calculator in math class in Hungary. It was annoying, but now I thank my teachers.

[PoliticalHell]

@Ignorantf00l There's more to math than just memorizing the multiplication table though. When you get into the more advanced stuff, doing basic calculations by hand just wastes time. By the time you get the HS, it's assumed you can subtract and divide.

[gerardrbain1972]

More high school math teachers need to have his attitude.

[Lightrider4444]

Learn to use math or it will be used against you. Especially in our sick and abusive monetary system driven world.

[daemonowner]

12:00 OMG YES! I do that all the time - not making things with straws, but yelling at the textbooks for those examples.

[petphotog]

It is very good to have more science and math exposure. This is the a good lectures!

[holldoll933]

Math-nerdgasm.....

Srsly though, Hemant, awesome talk. As a future teacher this was very enlightening and helpful.

[glitchkillgasmx]

this was the best presentation ever. thank you for getting it all.