🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <3vatp7$211i@b.stat.purdue.edu> hrubin@b.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin) writes:

about authentic assessment:

>Where is the basic knowledge of mathematics, science, geography, history?
>This is basic knowledge, which can then be applied; teaching it as application
>only makes the knowledge difficult to recognize.  Those who take social
>science end up not being able to recognize geography and history.

Is it as simple as this? After all, there is a whole movement (eg Problem 
Based Learning) which says that learning in context is better. Obviously 
neither extreme is ideal. We need to practise basic skills (eg arithmetic), 
but also see it used in meaningful ways (eg banking, shopping, etc). 

I suspect 
that much of the basic skill practice that has gone on over the years (eg 
learning dates in history) is not very useful. Wouldn't it be better to 
immerse the kids in history in some meaningful way? Fortunately these things 
are happneing in our schools.

>I do not see how one can do much about decision making without knowing
>quite a bit about the world.  Even in universities, there are courses in
>"science and public policy" where the professor and the students do not
>even know enough science to know their ignorance.

Agreed. But which 0.000000000001% of the world's knowledge do you teach? My 
own feeling is that the number 1 factor in learning is student motivation. 
Once you turn them on, wonderful things happen. If this means that some of the 
"content" can't be "covered", tough. Very little is life threatening - 
reading, writing, arithmetic, personal health - most of which is over by about 
the age of 8.

>Teach the fundamentals.  What is fundamental is what one can use to build
>on and to attack other problems.  Arithmetic is not fundamental for
>mathematics, while algebraic notation is.  Facts are not as fundamental
>in science as structure; the facts hang on the structure.  Although it
>is my field, I would find it very difficult to tell the jurors in the 
>Simpson case the basic mathematics and probability they need to be able
>to handle the statements made by oversimplifying experts; they lack the
>fundamentals.

Again, which fundamentals? How many folk need a grounding in prob and stats? 

regards
Roger

--
Roger Hadgraft, Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering
Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, AUSTRALIA, 3168.
phone: 03 9905 4983  fax: 03 9905 4944 or 3409 intnl: +61 3 9905 ....
e-mail: roger.hadgraft@eng.monash.edu.au
http://civil-www.eng.monash.edu.au/people/hadgraft.htm