EconTech

Andrew Gelman had this to say on concepts versus skills. It was certainly a technique I used in tutoring students that was extremely successful. More so because the ‘tricks’ approach to math, and some other subjects, is a dismal approach to teaching someone how to think about math. A couple days of being shown how [...]

Rating RateMyProfessors.com

You’ve heard the reasons why professors don’t trust RateMyProfessors.com, the Web site to which students flock. Students who don’t do the work have equal say with those who do. The best way to get good ratings is to be relatively easy on grades, good looking or both, and so forth. But what if the [...]

Ok, maybe that is a bit harsh. And I don’t really care about the parents reaction to the grading. Nevertheless, it seems rather obvious that teachers will be the major factor in determining how well a student does in a class. Just about everyone has had good and bad teachers. I’m sure, then, that the [...]

You know the plot. Young, idealistic teacher goes to inner-city high school. Said idealistic teacher is shocked by students who don’t know the basics and who are too preoccupied with the burdens of violence, poverty and indifference to want to…
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