Monthly Archives: May 2011

A Term Ends

Posted on May 30, 2011 by jrh794

I always get a little sad when a term is ending – a sort of postpartum blues.  I have gotten to know and like my students as personalities and as learners.  And they know me.  We have settled comfortably into … Continue reading →

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Will It Be On the Test?

Posted on May 20, 2011 by jrh794

According to William Perry students move through four main stages in their academic careers.  The stages, based on this reference, are A. Dualism/Received Knowledge – Answers are either right or wrong and the Authorities know which. B. Multiplicity/Subjective Knowledge – … Continue reading →

Posted in Rants, Teaching | 1 Comment

Why Take Math?

Posted on May 14, 2011 by jrh794

Not enough attention is paid  to the stages of adult development as described, for instance, by Robert Kegan.  (See The Evolving Self or this terse summary)  For instance, how we answer the question “Why take math?” depends on the developmental … Continue reading →

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Groundhog Day

Posted on May 9, 2011 by jrh794

I had my elementary statistics students recall the movie Groundhog Day as part of  their  introduction to the concept of sampling distributions.  I gave them my version.  Each day Bill Murray would get up and take a sample,  calculate the … Continue reading →

Posted in Math and Me, Teaching | 1 Comment

Critiquing Research Studies

Posted on May 1, 2011 by jrh794

I have been watching a series of lectures by Robert Sapolsky for his Stanford University course, Human Behavioral Biology.  Stanford undergraduates are getting their money’s worth.  The material itself is deeply compelling and Dr. Sapolsky’s up to the minute knowledge … Continue reading →

Posted in Curriculum, Pedagogy, Teaching | Leave a comment