Mr Honner

Why Are We Listening to Andrew Hacker?

I wasn’t planning on attending the math education debate hosted by the Museum of Mathematics. I have read, and written, enough about Andrew Hacker and his arguments for ending compulsory mathematics education that I didn’t feel it necessary. But in the end, I decided to go. After all, there’s something inspiring about hundreds of people attending a public debate about mathematics!

As Andrew Hacker laid out his position, he shared his one visual aid with the audience:

Photo Credit: MoMath (link)

He said his argument boiled down to one question: “Why?” As in, “Why does every student in the country, regardless of interest, ambition, or ability, have to take a full sequence of advanced mathematics in school?” It’s not an unreasonable question.

But for me, the real “Why?” question is this: “Why are we listening to Andrew Hacker?” And this question inspired my essay, “When it Comes to Math Teaching, Let’s Listen to Math Teachers“, which I wrote for Math for America’s Teacher Voices blog. Here’s an excerpt:

Andrew Hacker isn’t an expert on mathematics. And he isn’t an expert on math teaching, either. He has every right to voice his complaints, some of which are worthy of consideration, but why has he been given such an enormous platform – high profile Op-Eds, interviews, lectures, a book deal – to address the public about how to “fix” math education?

The fact that Andrew Hacker has such an outsized and undeserved role in steering this conversation is itself one of our problems: we aren’t listening to the right people. If we are really interested in identifying and addressing the problems facing math education today, we should be listening to math teachers.

You can read the entire essay here.

I also live-tweeted the event, along with a few other attendees, using the hashtag #MoMathEdTalk. You can find the tweets here; several interesting conversations ensued.

And for more of my writing on Andrew Hacker, you can start here.

Math Photo: Tetradecagon

Playgrounds offer a seemingly endless supply of interesting mathematical apparatuses. I was rewarded on this particular day, seeing a regular tetradecagon for the first time ever.

By MrHonner, 10 yearsMay 8, 2016 ago

Geometry Technology

How Many Circles Pass Through Two Given Points?

The impact of technology on education is often overstated. However, some applications of technology are unequivocally transformative in mathematics teaching.

The question “How many circles pass through two given points?” is a wonderful prompt for a geometry class. It’s simple, it provokes debate, it can be explored in a variety of ways, and it connects to many important geometric concepts. And in the end, it requires some imagination on the part of the student to truly comprehend the answer.

And after all that classroom work, it is so powerful and satisfying to see something like this.

A simple demonstration that elegantly captures the essence of the problem, and leads to new compelling questions. That shows students that mathematics is beautiful and inspiring. And that takes just a few moments to put together in Geogebra.

And what’s truly transformative is how easy it is to get students using technology to create their own mathematics like this! This is the real promise of technology.

Geometry Photography

Math Photo: Stealth Cone

This cone sits in front of the engine of the SR 71 Blackbird, a retired long-range reconnaissance aircraft. Apparently this “spike” retracts into the plane at high speeds, to favorably alter the plane’s aerodynamic properties.

By MrHonner, 10 yearsApril 23, 2016 ago

Testing

Regents Recap — January 2016: Reused Exams

I’ve looked at many New York State Math Regents exams over the years, and in that time I’ve definitely seen a few recycled problems appear on tests. But I’ve never seen anything like what happened this past Regents cycle.

Most current high school students in New York are required to take the Common Core Algebra exam, which replaced the Integrated Algebra exam in 2014. However, some students are still eligible to take the old Integrated Algebra exam, and so to accommodate those students, a special administration of the Integrated Algebra exam was offered this past February.

What was perhaps most “special” about the exam given in February, 2016 is that it was the exact same Integrated Algebra exam that was given in August, 2009. The exact same, as in every single question on the February 2016 exam was identical to the corresponding question on the August, 2009 exam.

It’s hard to believe that this was allowed to happen. Yes, it takes a lot of effort to make a state exam, and this one likely doesn’t affect that many students. But simply copying-and-pasting an old exam seems to undermine the state’s assertion that these high-stakes exams are critically important to education and should be taken very seriously by schools, teachers, students, and parents.

As of writing this, the state still has not made public the February, 2016 exam, which is quite unusual. Perhaps they think it unnecessary, since they already published it 7 years ago.

To see for yourself, you can find copies of the exams posted at JMAP.org: here’s the February, 2016 exam, and here’s the August, 2009 exam.

Why Are We Listening to Andrew Hacker?

Math Photo: Tetradecagon

How Many Circles Pass Through Two Given Points?

Math Photo: Stealth Cone

Regents Recap — January 2016: Reused Exams

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