. . Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 14:06:23 -0700 From: Richard Hake <rrhake@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Reply-To: Net-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To: AERA-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Cc: Net-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [Net-Gold] Bressoud's MAA Launchings piece "The Best Way to Learn" . . Some subscribers to AERA-L and Net-Gold might be interested in David Bressoud's (2011) latest MAA "Launchings" piece "The Best Way to Learn." . Bressoud <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bressoud> is DeWitt Wallace Professor of Mathematics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Past-President of the Mathematical Association of America. . Bressoud's first paragraph is [bracketed by lines "BBBBB. . . . "; slightly edited: . BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB . Last month, in "The Worst Way to Teach" [Bressoud (2011a)], I wrote about some of the problems with instruction delivered by lecture. It stirred up a fair amount of discussion. Richard Hake (2011a) started a thread on the MathForum. He added several references to my own list and sparked a discussion that produced some heat and a lot of light. . I do want to clarify that I recognize how important what I say in the classroom can be, as I will expound a bit later in this column. Nevertheless, I stand by my statement that "sitting still, listening to someone talk, and attempting to transcribe what they have said into a notebook is a very poor substitute for actively engaging with the material at hand, for doing mathematics." . BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB . . . Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University Honorary Member, Curmudgeon Lodge of Deventer, The Netherlands President, PEdants for Definitive Academic References which Recognize the Invention of the Internet (PEDARRII) <rrhake@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake> <http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi> <http://HakesEdStuff.blogspot.com> <http://iub.academia.edu/RichardHake> . . . "The best way to learn is to do; the worst way to teach is to talk." Halmos, Moise, & Piranian (1975), quoted by Bressoud (2011a,b) . "Some say that the only possible effect of the Moore method is to produce research mathematicians, but I don't agree. The Moore method is, I am convinced the right way to teach anything and everything. It produces students who can understand and use what they have learned. . . . . . There is an old Chinese proverb that I learned from Moore himself: 'I hear, I forget; I see, I remember. I do, I understand.' " Halmos (1988, p. 258) . . . REFERENCES [All URL's accessed on 1 August 2011; most are shortened by <http://bit.ly/>.] . . . Bressoud, D. 2011a. " The Worst Way to Teach," in Launchings of 1 July; online at <http://www.maa.org/columns/launchings/launchings_07_11.html> = <http://bit.ly/nmJJpj >. . Bressoud, D. 2011b. "The Best Way to Learn," in Launchings of 1 August; online at <http://launchings.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html> = <http://bit.ly/qRHMCp>. . Hake, R.R. 2011a. "Re: Lecture Isn't Effective: More Evidence," online on the OPEN! MathEdCC archives at <http://bit.ly/r80W5i> along with 11 responses as of 1 August 2011. Post of 15 July, shamelessly cross-posted to Math-Teach, Math-Learn, MathEdCC, and RUME. See also the subsequent posts Hake (2011b,c). . Hake, R.R. 2011b. "Re: Lecture Isn't Effective: More Evidence #2," online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at <http://bit.ly/mXiXoh>. Post of 20 Jul 2011 17:13:46-0400 to AERA-L and Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post were transmitted to various discussion lists and are also on my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/rr2BQU> with a provision for comments. See also the precursor Hake (2011a). . Hake, R.R. 2011c. "Re: Lecture Isn't Effective: More Evidence #4," online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at <http://bit.ly/oVqvml>. Post of 22 Jul 2011 14:52:44 -0700 to AERA-L and Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post were transmitted to various discussion lists and are also on my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/qC58LF> with a provision for comments. . Halmos, P.R., E.E. Moise, & G. Piranian. 1975. "The Problem of Learning to Teach," The American Mathematical Monthly 82(5): 466-476; the first page is online at <http://www.jstor.org/pss/2319737>. . Halmos, P.R. 1988. "I Want to Be a Mathematician: An Automathography in Three Parts." Mathematical Association of America (MAA), publisher's information at <http://bit.ly/pKtfrL>. Amazon.com information at <http://amzn.to/oImPVB>. . .