teaching
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The Poisson mnemonic
“Mnemonic” is mnemonic for the Poisson distribution. I give this a Geek2. Tip from the Endeavor. Read more
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OK, there’s at least one sane teacher in this country
Mike Mazenko’s neighbor had a frozen pipe fixed, for $300. “…current education reform based almost entirely on standardized test scores and college degrees is the wrong direction for Colorado and for the United States.” Tip from Community College Spotlight. Update (26 February). Thomas Benton thinks this is the beginning of a perfect storm in education. Read more
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Regression revelation
Here’s a clever reformulation of simple least-squares regression that estimates slope as a weighted average of pairwise slopes. Too cool! Read more
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Heresy in math education
Jan Nordgren pointed me to this dissenting essay. In fact, if I had to design a mechanism for the express purpose of destroying a child’s natural curiosity and love of pattern-making, I couldn’t possibly do as good a job as is currently being done— I simply wouldn’t have the imagination to come up with the Read more
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Brains per buck
The Center for American Progress has mapped every school district in the nation according to educational return on investment. How does your school district measure up? Tip from Joanne Jacobs. Read more
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Practice, practice, practice!
Amy Chua reminds us all of what every hardcore programmer and serious musician already knows: What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you’re good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override Read more
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Thnik again! again
Jan Nordgreen’s Thnik Again! blog is back on the air. Get your Thinking Caps ready. Read more
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It’s hip to be square
I’m not sure how many students it will attract, but who cares? I like having Science Cheerleaders. Tip from the Geek Press. Read more
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I lack confidence in Confidence Intervals
From a comment I posted over at Will Briggs’ excellent site: Confidence intervals crack me up. When I teach these to my students I remind them that the word “confidence” has two opposite meanings, and that confidence intervals have much in common with confidence games. If you go the extra mile and explain that a Read more
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Math stimulus!
Does this mean I can bring an electrical cattle prod to my lectures? Tip from Joanne Jacobs. Read more
The Random Texan 