Scientific/Statistical Interpretation 101

April 23rd, 2008 | 1 Comment

A rant.

Please, for my sake, stop using the phrase “scientific proof.”

Science is about probabilities, not proof.

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Algebra and Arithmetic Education

March 16th, 2008 | No Comments

I’m going to argue that algebra is so hard to learn because students never really understand arithmetic to begin with. Math is inherently abstract*. If you only learn to do math in concrete terms, in the way that most elementary math is taught, you are not really learning how to do math. You are learning to be a calculator (and there’s no reason to learn how to be a calculator, because we have perfectly good ones already). But if you really understand the arithmetic, then algebra should be pretty easy.

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We Shouldn’t Have to Pay Kids to Learn

March 11th, 2008 | 1 Comment

You might have heard of various pilot programs around the country to see if paying kids for grades will improve test scores. I tend to agree with The Frontal Cortex’s take on it, with a few additional comments.

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