SemiAntics

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

I am a math teaching assistant, and one of my job duties is grading exams. I’m grading the second exam of the semester for what we call “Calculus Lite”. It’s basically calculus for people who need to know how to use some basic calculus tools, but who don’t need to know or understand much theory.

I’ve heard a lot of people say, “Math is not a spectator sport.” It’s true. Math is a subject that you only get good at by doing it. What varies is how much you have to do to become comfortable. Some people only need to work a couple problems, others have to practice much more.

When the students prepared for the first exam they didn’t work problems; they tried to memorize procedures and formulas. (That sort of approach is good for life sciences sorts of classes, but not so good for math). The average of the test was ok, but a lot of people failed or got Ds and Cs.

The instructor and I warned the students they would need to actually do problems to prepare for the second exam. They didn’t, and the average this time was much lower.

I wonder if any of the students will learn this time, or will they take the same approach to exam 3?

I attribute the problem to a failed education system. The failures must begin in elementary school, but they are certainly present in high school. What use is 12 years of “education” if, when you graduate, you have to take four years of college to be considered useful in the workplace?

In fact, most four year degrees are not considered “terminal” – the word terminal refers to the level of college education required to get the most out of a particular field. The truth is, many students spend their first two years of college learning things that should be learned in high school. That leaves about two years, the equivalent of an Associate’s degree, for real education. It is no wonder at all that a four year degree is not good enough.