[272] in Humor
HUMOR: The evolution of math education
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (abennett@MIT.EDU)
Tue May 17 15:37:09 1994
From: abennett@MIT.EDU
To: humor@MIT.EDU
Date: Tue, 17 May 94 15:33:41 EDT
Date: Tue, 17 May 1994 18:40:06 -0600
From: Espacionaute Spiff domine! <matossian@aries.colorado.edu>
...
From: Kelly James Clark at Calvin College in Michigan (clak@calvin.edu).
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HOW TO SPOT OUTCOME-BASED EDUCATION
Math Quiz:
In 1960: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of
production is four fifths the price. What is his profit?
In 1970 (traditional math): A logger sells a truckload of lumber for
$100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price; in other words $80.
What is his profit?
In 1970 (new math): A logger exchanges set L of lumber for set M of
money. The cardinality of set M is 100 and each element is worth $1.
Make 100 dots representing the elements of set M. The set C of costs
contains 20 fewer points than set M. Represent set C as a subset of
set M, and answer the following question: What is the cardinality of
the set P of profits?
In 1980. A logger sells a truckload of wood for $100. His cost of
production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline
the number 20.
In 1990 (Outcome-Based Education): By cutting down beautiful forest
trees, a logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making a
living? Topic for class discussion: How did the forest birds and
squirrels feel?
