[Edu-sig] Math Through Programming (newsgroup post)

[Kirby Urner]

From: Kirby Urner <urner@alumni.Princeton.EDU>
To: koblitz@math.washington.edu, pdx4d@teleport.com
Newsgroups: alt.education
Subject: Math Through Programming
Date: Sat, 27 May 2000 14:10:41 -0700
Reply-To: urner@alumni.Princeton.EDU


Greetings sir --

I was just reading your "The Case Against Computers in K-13 
Math Education (Kindergarten through Calculus)" at 
http://www.math.washington.edu/~koblitz/mi.html and 
wanted to respond.

I would agree that the trade-offs may make computers an 
unwise investment, if that means axing music or art.  Plus
I'd agree with your point that computer science isn't the
same thing as sitting down to use a computer.

I haven't read Pea and Kurland's research, which you cite,
and maybe their findings would deter me from the kind of 
curriculum writing I've been doing, the agenda I've been
pressing.  I don't know yet.

I'm advocating a math-through-programming approach, wherein
students have access to an interactive command line and 
learn to code algorithms.  I go further, and suggest that
the computer science notion of "objects" is worth porting
over into mathematics more generally, including in K-12.

A lot depends on pedagogy of course.  You may see me as
trying to resurrect an already failed approach, but 
I'm seeing enough successes to feel encouraged.

Anyway, given you've obviously put a lot of thought 
into this topic, I wouldn't mind exchanging views.

Here's a link to my post of earlier today at the Glenn 
Commission discussion area:

  http://webx.ed.gov/cgi-bin/WebX?14@^2321@.ee6b2ea/8

Kirby