七天课堂：学习数学的错误方法.docVIP

学习数学的错误方法！ HERE’S an apparent paradox: Most Americanshave taken high school mathematics, including geometry and algebra, yet anational survey found that 82 percent of adults could not compute the cost of acarpet when told its dimensions and square-yard price. The Organization forEconomic Cooperation and Development recently tested adults in 24 countries onbasic “numeracy” skills. Typical questions involved odometer readings andproduce sell-by tags. The United States ended an embarrassing 22nd, behindEstonia and Cyprus. We should be doing better. Is more mathematics the answer? 这里有个明显的悖论：多数美国人都学过高中数学，里面包括了几何和代数，然而一份国家调查发现，当告诉他们毯子的尺寸和每平方码的价格时，百分之八十二的成年人都算不出一张毯子花了多少钱。经济合作与发展组织最近对24个国家的成年人的基本“识数”能力进行了测试。典型问题包括里程表的读数和保质期标签的制作。美国最终取得了令人尴尬的第二十二名，在爱沙尼亚和塞浦路斯之后。我们应该做得更好。更多的数学课会解决这个问题吗？ In fact, what’s needed is a different kindof proficiency, one that is hardly taught at all. The Mathematical Associationof America calls it “quantitative literacy.” I prefer the O.E.C.D.’s“numeracy,” suggesting an affinity with reading and writing. 实际上，我们需要掌握的是另一种能力，这种能力我们基本没有想到过。美国数学协会把这称为“量化读写能力。”我更喜欢O.E.C.D.的“识数，”暗示着它与阅读和书写的相似之处。 Calculus and higher math have a place, ofcourse, but it’s not in most people’s everyday lives. What citizens do need isto be comforp reading graphs and charts and adept at calculating simplefigures in their heads. Ours has become a quantitative century, and we mustmaster its language. Decimals and ratios are now as crucial as nouns and verbs. 微积分和高等数学当然有一定的地位，但它们并不在大多数人日常生活里并不常见。民众们真正需要的是对阅读图表和图形感到舒服并且能够对简单的数字熟练进行心算。我们处在一个量化的世纪，而我们必须掌握这个世纪的语言。小数点和分数如今就像名词和动词一样关键。 It sounds simple but it’s not easy. I teachthese skills in an undergraduate class I call Numeracy 101, for which the onlyprerequisite is middle school arithmetic. Even so, students tell me they findthe assignments as demanding as rational exponents and linear inequalities. 这听起来简单但并不容易。我在本科生课程上教授这些技能，我把这课程称为“识数101，”这门课唯一的预备知识为中学算术。即使这样，学生们告诉我，他们发现课堂作业就像有理指数和线性不等式一样难搞。 I’m sometimes told that what I’m pro