Learning Strategies

Recent Posts - page 124

• The exam compromise

  By ljd42 on March 9, 2006

  We’ve reached a compromise — of sorts — about the exam issue. We’re going to have a dedicated exam week, so that’s a major victory. But only the Math Department wanted to hold all its exams at the same time!… Read More ›

• Black History Month Assembly

  By ljd42 on March 8, 2006

  Interesting Black History Month assembly this morning. (I know, Black History Month was last month, but we’re a little behind the clock here.) Usually these assemblies consist of performances and readings by Weston students, but this year it was different:… Read More ›

• Problems in integrating programming into math

  By ljd42 on March 7, 2006

  A month ago, I posted an entry that included the following bullet item: We’ve made a valiant effort in our project of integrating computer programming into the regular math curriculum, but we still have far to go. In particular, programming… Read More ›

• A revised scenario

  By ljd42 on March 6, 2006

  A follow-up to my post of Saturday, 3/4: How’s this for a (slightly) revised course scenario? You are a Special Agent of the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) assigned to a new group set up jointly with the FSA (Federal… Read More ›

• Wikipedia and epistemology

  By ljd42 on March 5, 2006

  There’s a fascinating article about Wikipedia in The Village Voice: … Larry Sanger, a philosophy grad student at Ohio State University, … acknowledges that the site is “very cool.” But as a philosophy professor with a specialty in epistemology, he… Read More ›

• Is the real world too scary for kids?

  By ljd42 on March 4, 2006

  To what extent do fifth-graders need to be protected from the so-called “real world”? At The Saturday Course I teach a cryptology class to public-school fourth, fifth, and sixth graders who have been identified as gifted and talented. There is… Read More ›

• What's the matter with kids today?

  By ljd42 on March 3, 2006

  Those of us of a certain age recall a song from the musical Bye Bye Birdie (originally a Broadway show starting in 1959, subsequently a movie): “What’s the matter with kids today?” The song was written 48 years ago, but… Read More ›

• No driver's license? Something must be wrong!

  By ljd42 on March 2, 2006

  In a tone of shock and amazement, one of my sophomores asked me, “Did you hear that our new principal doesn’t have a driver’s license?” Several of his classmates chipped in, in a similar tone. Apparently this was supposed to… Read More ›

• The exam controversy continues

  By ljd42 on March 1, 2006

  A month ago, almost to the day, I posted an entry entitled, “Can exams reduce stress and be otherwise helpful?” I cited the following advantages to a dedicated final exam period: On a given day, students can focus on one… Read More ›

• Miniature worlds

  By ljd42 on February 28, 2006

  Check out the great photos at <legnangel.livejournal.com/564026.html>. I wish I could read the Russian text, but maybe Boris can help. Anyway, the question for me is why this collection resonates for me at several different levels. For one, the miniature… Read More ›

• Sel de la Terre

  By ljd42 on February 27, 2006

  Just got back from Sel de la Terre. Highly recommended for a wonderful birthday dinner with that Provençal flavor.

• Graphing aids

  By ljd42 on February 26, 2006

  There are several blogs that I read regularly. One of my favorites is Learning Curves, by the pseudonymous math professor Rudbeckia Hirta. She goes to some lengths to hide her real name, as well as the the name of the… Read More ›

• Bars, gates, & a ticket of admission

  By ljd42 on February 25, 2006

  Almost 25 years ago, my friend and colleague Phil Lewis wrote an article for Kaleidoscopes called (if memory serves) “Subject to Gates and Bars.” If I were better organized, I would be able to find that article; Phil always describes… Read More ›

• No slow service from Apple

  By ljd42 on February 24, 2006

  Tuesday afternoon at 4:20 — I took my iBook to the Cambridge Apple Store, having made an appointment earlier in the day at the so-called Genius Bar. (CDs and DVDs were ejecting less than 50% of the time. Worse yet,… Read More ›

• Win the lottery: what a good idea!

  By ljd42 on February 23, 2006

  All I can do is shake my head in amazement: About one out of five Americans believe that winning the lottery is the most practical way of attaining personal wealth, according to a survey released in January by the Financial… Read More ›

• The Harvard Coup

  By ljd42 on February 22, 2006

  No, that’s not a typo. I don’t mean the Harvard Coop; I’m referring to the forced resignation of Harvard President Larry Summers, which Alan Dershowitz rightly calls a coup. Definitely read Dershowitz’s column! I do have a certain bias in… Read More ›

• Finally TiVo

  By ljd42 on February 20, 2006

  So we finally gave in and got a TiVo box. I think it was a recommendation by Ira Glass that did the track. Most of the setup was painless, but it’s been very frustrating trying to connect it to our… Read More ›

• The soul-stealing iPod and fuzzy math

  By ljd42 on February 18, 2006

  Does the iPod steal music’s soul? Do these numbers make sense? Here are the views of Tony Brummel, founder of Victory Records: iTunes “makes music disposable. It makes it a faceless impulse item. It steals its soul,” according to Macworld… Read More ›

• Redefining our major curriculum units

  By ljd42 on February 17, 2006

  Early in April, our entire math department will be participating in a workshop on “redefining our major curriculum units”. At this point I have some very preliminary thoughts, some of which I’ve discussed here previously: Many mathematical applications that are… Read More ›

• Inflammatory headline in Boston Globe

  By ljd42 on February 16, 2006

  Today’s Boston Globe reports on the appointment of new principals to both of the high schools in Newton. One candidate, Jennifer Price, had been a finalist for the position at Weston, though she was not the one ultimately chosen. (See… Read More ›

• ‹ Older Entries
• Newer Entries ›