134. Why Do We Still Teach People to Calculate?
3Description
Conrad Wolfram wants to transform the way we teach math — by taking advantage of computers. The creator of Computer-Based Maths convinced the Estonian government to give his radical curriculum a try — so why is the rest of the world so resistant?
SOURCE:
Conrad Wolfram, strategic director and European cofounder/C.E.O. of Wolfram Research, and founder of computerbasedmath.org.
RESOURCES:
"In California, a Math Problem: Does Data Science = Algebra II?" by Amy Harmon (The New York Times, 2023).
The Math(s) Fix: An Education Blueprint for the AI Age, by Conrad Wolfram (2020).
"The Movement to Modernize Math Class," by Yoree Koh (The Wall Street Journal, 2020).
"Math Rebels Invade Estonia With Computerized Education," by Klint Finley (Wired, 2013).
"Do Left-Handed People Really Die Young?" by Hannah Barnes (BBC News, 2013).
"Teaching Kids Real Math With Computers," by Conrad Wolfram (TED Talk, 2010).
EXTRAS:
"Bringing Data to Life," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).
"Steven Strogatz Thinks You Don’t Know What Math Is," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2023).
"Mathematician Sarah Hart on Why Numbers are Music to Our Ears," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).
"America’s Math Curriculum Doesn’t Add Up," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).
United States
134 Why Do We Still Teach People to Calculate is very interesting. I'm 65 and am a maths person not by career, but by having fun with maths. When I was part home educating my children I wondered why the school had so much repetitive calculation in the age calculators and computer programs. In high school, better to teach how different occupations use maths. In lower primary the maths of patterns and fun, games & magic tricks, later the maths of life skills, logic & critical thinking.