logoalt Hacker News

datsci_est_2015 • yesterday at 10:24 PM • 1 reply • view on HN

Maybe it’s possible in theory to leverage our newest technologies as educational tools. But maybe it’s also incredibly challenging because it’s so easy to fuck up: a lonely peak of optimal outcomes surrounded by a vast space of net negative outcomes.

You mention the addictiveness of the devices, this probably plays a big role in shaping the outcome space.


Replies

ChadNauseam • today at 12:09 AM

Let's take math education as an example. If you look at the actual result, all math education past y=mx+b is a waste of time for most students. By and large, math students are taught by people who have memorized the quadratic equation, or certain operations with logarithms or imaginary numbers, etc. but don't understand it on any kind of deeper level. (Imagine asking a high-school math teacher to compute i^i. Almost none will be able to.) So it's presented as a set of random rules you have to follow to get the correct answer, with no underlying logic or justification. Most normal people understandably hate this, and even if they suffer through it to get a good grade they will not retain it and come away permanently hating math.

It's just sad. I sometimes help kids with math, and it's amazing how screwed they are. Like, smart kids with good grades who are totally unable to do basic manipulations with fractions. I mean questions like "write 25% as a fraction". They are getting absolutely nothing from math classes. How could they? Even the best teacher in the world can't pause class for everyone when they realize that one of their students is missing some foundational concepts. That student is just going to get left farther and farther behind, and they will never catch up. It happens to almost every student at some point. They'll get sick for a week or just have their mind on other things, miss some important concept, and then be left behind forever.

I honestly have a hard time imagining how we would possibly make the situation any worse with technology honestly. But if you just took Math Academy and made students use that instead of their math classes, I bet 99% would have better understanding and fluency with math than they do now.