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Summary of Discussion of "Challenges in Getting Students to Think Deeply about Mathematics"

Initial Publication Date: May 4, 2004

Participants divided into small groups and spent some time discussing challenges to teaching quantitative skills in both mathematics and geoscience classes. A few minutes at the end were spent summarizing the discussion as a whole.

Overarching challenges (pervasive in our culture)

  • People don't want to be good at math
  • Math not seen as important/valuable
  • Math Phobia -- students are afraid/terrified
  • The answer is more important than the process
  • "I'm not good at math" attitude -- barrier to learning

Instructor-centered challenges

  • Finding the time to come up with creative ways to teach mathematical concepts can be difficult
  • Many geoscience faculty are rusty in math; Math faculty may not know geoscience
  • Scientists and mathematicians are encouraged to specialize and not be broad (at least historically -- is it still true?)
  • Assessments may not support what we know about learning and mathematics
  • Students may not have learned the prerequisite material
  • Heterogeneity of abilities in the classroom

Student-centered challenges

  • Perceived lack of relevance
  • Students have difficulty applying abstract mathematical concepts
  • Many students lack math intuition or experience
  • Students don't expect to learn quantitative skills that are applicable to real world problems, instead learn the abstract in math classes
  • Can't move beyond the example problems to get to the conceptual understanding -- solution is not "the answer"
  • Unwarranted reverence for numbers -- cannot evaluate whether the numbers are meaningful or useful
  • Misuse or lack of tools/skills -- unable to choose appropriate approaches
  • Difficulty in visualizing geometry in 3D

Challenges to both the student and the instructor

  • Compartmentalization -- connections are not made between courses (both within geology and between math and geology)
  • Timing of courses does not lead to practice of skills when learned
  • Real world problems are often difficult and take time to address
  • Often not enough time to discover or learn math and science throughout education