Re: TI-89 and AP Test
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Re: TI-89 and AP Test
Mike McCarty (jmccarty@SUN1307.SPD.DSCCC.COM) writes:
> That said, however, I must also point out that calculators these days
> are getting to where they can perform algebraic, trig, and even some
> calculus operations. These I would forbid in a calculus class. Though
> not in a stat class. I would probably forbid them in a Stat Theory
> class, however. With these the questions are usually something like
> "Find the Maximum Liklihood Estimator for <something>. Devise a test
for
> <blah> using this MLE. Show that your test is Uniformly Most
Powerful."
This talk about forbidding the use of calculators is like the idea of
"holding
back the spring" -- it can't be done, and we have to accept it and move
with it.
The last time a spring of this sort arrived was 500 years ago, when the
introduction of Hindu/Arabic numerals drove out the use of counting
boards
in Europe, and soon led to the development of algebra and all the
mathematics
that led to. What a glorious summer! It's true that some of the neat
things you
could do with counting boards and abaci and mental arithmetic have been
largely forgotten, but who cares? Pencils and paper are cheap.
The analogy kind of breaks down here, because we haven't really had a
winter.
But with global warming and all, I think we can look forward to a real
hot time
when we can get all our students playing around with the advanced
mathematical
capabilities of the new calculators. Let's push for this.
McCarty also says:
> ...The hard
> part was deciding whether to integrate or differentiate, performing
the
> operation, and then doing some trig or algebraic manipulations to get
> solutions.
This is exactly right! the whole point is not to get the students to DO
the long,
boring work, but to DECIDE on what work is needed, and ORDER it done
(and CHECK that it gets done correctly). If we can teach from this
perspective,
we are not at any risk of shortchanging our students.
RWW Taylor
National Technical Institute for the Deaf
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester NY 14623
>>>> The plural of mongoose begins with p. <<<<
P.S. As I noted in my previous post, this sort of discussion really
belongs in the
GRAPH-TI list. Can we move it there?