You always get good ideas from forums (or fora), whatever form they are. If you want great insights about math and science education, try attending a PhD forum or seminar. I’ve just been to one. Following are some of the things I learned from the spirited discussion during the question and answer portion from these serious educators.
- We complain that our learners are not doing well in their Maths especially in secondary schools. These students are now engineers, doctors, lawyers, and politicians. We trust them anyway (except the politicians).
- It is only in math that 1+1 = 2. In real-life, it doesn’t work that way. For example, when two churches combine, you get 3 – the new one and the two old ones. This also applies to political parties.
number theory - On the question of the relevance of your PhD to science education. Short answer by the speaker: I am now relevant to the science education. They now have one learned participant in the science education discourse.
- Why do we always expect the teachers to know all their Maths? Answer: It is probably because of our experience of our teachers in first grade as all-knowing. We believe everything teacher say and it was important for us then to have believe them. I think we need to grow up.
- Tell me, “Do you know of a mathematician who know all their mathematics?” Why should a math teacher know all their math? This is not fair to teachers. Do you complain in the media when a doctor misdiagnose your illness?
- “My conclusion in my review of literature why, despite the extent of research about teaching and learning algebra we still have not solved the difficulty of learning it, is that because algebra is a moving target.”
- “I initially thought to explore the reasons of students absenteeism in lectures. But then I thought, why should they when they can find great lectures in the net. Now I do not know how to proceed from here. Will anybody suggest a research question that’s not in the net?”
- “In my interview with teachers, most of them said that they don’t really know why students are not getting the test. When they teach them, they seem to understand everything they are discussing and solving. My interview with students confirms this. The students said that they understand everything during the lectures but they couldn’t answer the same questions and problems in the test.”
I completely agree with you about expecting teachers to have all the answers! I say the same thing to my family about doctors. So many people think doctors know everything there is to know and can cure anything. But that’s not true. They are just extremely specialized in what they do, like many of us are. Odds are they won’t know a thing about construction, or astronomy, or technology. They are human, like all of us, and we are all just doing the best we can. But to expect perfection from doctors or teachers, or anyone, is crazy.
Per #4: I tell my students they should convince themselves of an answer, that they shouldn’t trust what a teacher says. “What about you, Mr. Gaynor?” “You should especially not trust what I say.”