Linda Moran has a thoughtful post on the false dichotomies so often encountered in journalistic writing about the math wars.
From it I picked up this great line: Math instruction needs to return to some kind of building block order instead of spiraling like a tornado, leaving devastation in its wake.
Just as an fyi, ID and creationism aren't the same thing.
ID believes in some sort of creator, but doesn't specify what kind. It could be the Judeo-Christian God, Gaia, Star Trek's Prometheans, etc. Most ID scientists believe in evolution.
On the other hand, creationism is a strictly religious belief. Creationists believe in a literal six-day creation and a young earth.
Isn't it the other way around? Constructivist thinking is that giving some unknown period of (random?) thrashing, intelligent algorithms will just naturally fall into the lap of children who will see their value because they are "fitter" at answering problems than other ways.
It's those Intelligent Designers who say that the most elegant algorithms are the product of mature Minds, coming from a math culture that goes back before Euclid, and we would be unwise to wait for children to regenerate it by chance.
Linda Moran has a thoughtful post on the false dichotomies so often encountered in journalistic writing about the math wars.
ReplyDeleteFrom it I picked up this great line: Math instruction needs to return to some kind of building block order instead of spiraling like a tornado, leaving devastation in its wake.
Another education quotes candidate.
Also, thanks Catherine for highlighting my quote.
That IS wonderful!
ReplyDeleteDI is the opposite of ID.
ReplyDeleteDI relates to science.
ID relates to belief.
How about a word analogy?
Constructivism : creationism
as
Direct Instruction : evolution
Definition of Irony - The ones who grasp so tightly to constructivism are the ones most likely to abhor Intelligent Design.
Just as an fyi, ID and creationism aren't the same thing.
ReplyDeleteID believes in some sort of creator, but doesn't specify what kind. It could be the Judeo-Christian God, Gaia, Star Trek's Prometheans, etc. Most ID scientists believe in evolution.
On the other hand, creationism is a strictly religious belief. Creationists believe in a literal six-day creation and a young earth.
Thanks, 42!
ReplyDeleteI'm reading Owen Gingerich at the moment - though I gather he's not an ID person, either....
Isn't it the other way around? Constructivist thinking is that giving some unknown period of (random?) thrashing, intelligent algorithms will just naturally fall into the lap of children who will see their value because they are "fitter" at answering problems than other ways.
ReplyDeleteIt's those Intelligent Designers who say that the most elegant algorithms are the product of mature Minds, coming from a math culture that goes back before Euclid, and we would be unwise to wait for children to regenerate it by chance.
--rocky