I get emails from math teachers in training sometimes, wanted to run by an excerpt of a recent reply.
The math guy writing me says: """ My name is ____________, I'm currently training to be a maths teacher in the UK. I have a degree in maths and program as a hobby. For my PGCE I'm required to write a masters level assignment and I've decided I want to research into how python can be used to teach mathematics to 11-16 year old children. I'm very much impressed with your existing work and will be studying it closely. I was wondering, however, if you would be able to point me in the direction of other work done in the field (if there is any), since I have only been able to find work by yourself. """ Some of what I wrote back was: """ -----Original Message----- From: Kirby Urner [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Sunday, January 11, 2009 12:28 PM To: [ math guy ] Subject: RE: Python and Mathematics research There's something of a nomenclature issue in that I'd say anyone teaching Python is teaching mathematics, as executable notations are what Leibniz had in mind, and Ada Byron was thinking Bernoulli numbers etc., i.e. from the beginning, a programmable computer has been the "piano forte" of mathematics, going through many iterations to where now you don't have to be big industry to employ professional math people, various types of computer scientist, to operate them. I would look to Kenneth Iverson for strong articulations of this viewpoint, and Roger Hui's work in the J language for how math teaching (of traditional topics) is accomplished through that language, as Python's emergence in this field somewhat along the same lines. If you go back to the start of the Edu-Sig archives, where I do most of this work, you'll find Tim Peters and Arthur Siegal using a math-through-programming approach. Tim cites 'Concrete Mathematics', Knuth a co-author, and similar to 'The Book of Numbers' in some ways (what Iverson-Hui take on). Siegal is doing projective geometry with Pygeo, which I think you'll still find, c/o his estate. I work with Ian Benson, a top curriculum writer in the UK, who is very connected in the Python community. Although Python itself is open source, a lot of private sector business do curriculum writing for profit, so some of these efforts aren't going to feature in academic papers. http://tizard.stanford.edu/groups/sociality/wiki/d4276/Visiting_Professorship_(Kingston_University).html I gave a talk to London Knowledge Lab on how I do Python, which you may be interested in, also my Chicago talk at Pycon last year drew large crowds, expecting even more this year, plus I have 3 hours this time [ and blah blah ] http://www.bfi.org/our_programs/bfi_community/python http://blog.showmedo.com/2008/07/30/your-pythonic-math-class-of-the-future-chicago-pycon-screencast/ Kirby """ So the way I'm thinking of it, we're all math teachers if we teach Python, a live (executable) math notation (MN) for implementing logic-numeric solutions to problems. We've been trained, especially in the Anglophone tradition, to maintain all these sharp turf lines, such that we might be computer scientists in some way, but even there, we're supposed to respect these various record locking schemes based on degrees and such claptrap. Mathematics is something removed from our purview and relegated to some elite that maybe only uses paper and pencil (or so "they" like to pretend -- many use Mathematica or MathCad most of the time i.e. live MNs, just as we do). Now that the concept of "namespace" has reached some maturity, I think it's easy to explain that namespaces differ in how they use key words (like "maths") and equating describing Python teaching or programming in general as mathematics is maybe not university-speak, but consistency in design is what we're looking for, not necessarily the approval of Oxbridge dons or whatever gowned authorities. So, on with the math teaching! Kirby PS: some of you may have wondered about my "Cockfight!" allusion, saying one of my computers was set aside for that purpose. It's just a concept. I'm not able to write a game as sophisticated as Spore coming from a tiny office with only a few partners, most of whom have other day jobs as well. I clarify this humble truth in my blog this morning, with a link back to this list. http://controlroom.blogspot.com/2009/01/cockfight.html _______________________________________________ Edu-sig mailing list [email protected] http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-sig
