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The opinions expressed on this blog are the views of the writer(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the American Mathematical Society
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Recent Posts
Category Archives: Issues in Higher Education
Diversify Your Blogfolio
It’s March. As the sun sets on black history month and rises on women’s history month, I feel inclined, as I do every March, to draw attention to some of the great women who blog about math as well as … Continue reading
As The Dust Settles, Let’s Check The Numbers
I really didn’t want to write about the election. But probably, much like you, it’s all I can think about right now. News media is completely saturated with it and the blogs are churning out a steady stream of predictions … Continue reading
Posted in Data Science, Events, Issues in Higher Education
Tagged Cathy O'Neil, Chronicle of Higher Ed, Election, Polling
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Specifications Grading Redux
Last December, I wrote about specifications grading, an idea I first saw on Robert Talbert’s blog Casting out Nines (Co9s is ending, so you can find new posts at rtalbert.org) and wanted to try out in my class. Talbert has blogged about his … Continue reading
Posted in Issues in Higher Education, Math Education
Tagged grading, Linda Nilson, Robert Talbert, specifications grading
9 Comments
Can Specifications Grading Cure What Ails My Syllabus?
I love teaching, and I hate grading. I know I’m not the only one. This semester, my math history course posed new grading challenges to me. Grading writing assignments is much more subjective than grading traditional math homework and tests, … Continue reading
Not-So-Confident Intervals
Here is a test for you. Let’s say 300 mathematicians were polled concerning how many hours of TV they watch per week. What does it mean to say that a 95% confidence interval for the average number of hours of … Continue reading
Narrowing The Gender Gap
This 3-minute clip of Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson is the kind of thing that might provide just the right bit of encouragement to someone struggling to express their passion for STEM. Neil DeGrasse Tyson Said What He Thinks About Race … Continue reading
Posted in Issues in Higher Education, people in math, women in math
Tagged gender gap, Larry Summers, Math gene, Neil DeGrasse Tyson
2 Comments
My Top Ten Issues in Mathematics Education
What are your “top ten”? Sue VanHattum, a full time faculty member at Contra Costa College inspired me with her wonderful top ten list . Below are my top ten Issues in Mathematics Education. While this is my opinion, I do … Continue reading
Why Should We Fund Math Research?
As my co-blogger Brie Finegold mentioned last month, Cathy O’Neil of mathbabe.org has been writing about how MOOCs might change the face of math departments and, ultimately, how math research gets funded. O’Neil is concerned that without calculus classes to … Continue reading
Job Security Calculus: Reasoning about our futures
Most academics have a love/hate relationship to teaching, and especially teaching Calculus. Prior to the first exam of the semester, it seems that everyone in the class is there for learning’s sake, discussing ideas, engaging in problem-solving. But we worry … Continue reading
Rankings, Standards, and Inquiry, Oh my!
Ranking As concern for K-12 standards in public education has come to a head, the quality of teaching and learning in our public universities has also come under public scrutiny. Recently, President Obama announced that he wanted to rework the … Continue reading