To Learn, Take a Test

Heard about this report on several blogs, Gas station without pumps and a Quantum Blog in particular

Here is a cut from Quantum Blog:

The article, To Really Learn, Quit Studying and Take a Test Already, reports on new research findings reported in Science that students who take a test asking them to actively recall information retain more than those who simply “study” or make concept maps. But what is awesome about this study is they didn’t just measure how the students performed using the various study strategies, it also measured how the students thought they performed.
Here is the money quote from the NYT:

These other methods [rereading notes and concept mapping] not only are popular, the researchers reported; they also seem to give students the illusion that they know material better than they do.
In the experiments, the students were asked to predict how much they would remember a week after using one of the methods to learn the material. Those who took the test after reading the passage predicted they would remember less than the other students predicted — but the results were just the opposite.

I have worked for the last few years to learn to sit quietly in staff development days when they present each new "best practice".  Now I can set quietly and SMILE... Ain't research grand.

The actual article is here in Science, but they charge mega-bucks to download... go to the library instead. 

SO... my newest new years resolution.... give a test in every class every week..

Its Time to Review for AP Calculus

It's the last day before Spring Break for my calc kids, and the time of year when we begin trying to brush up on all those ideas from first semester that slipped out of our memories, or things like related rates and implicit derivatives that never quite settled for some.

This year I told them I would post a list of helpful sites here that included some video lectures on specific topics and more traditional textbook type stuff.

The first is called Just Math Tutoring and it has a set of calculus videos focused on particular topics. They lok pretty good.


The second is from MIT and is labled Calculus for Beginners and Artists Not sure what that implies, but they have some good written lessons, and some nice java applets for slope fields and such (look under ordinary differential equations) as well as some other nice interactive stuff.


Then there is the Midnight Tutor, almost certainly a referrence to when they get their desparate crys for help. These guys will, apparently, let you send them a question and if they don't have a video solution already, they make one... do NOT call Mr. Ballew if they fail to produce.

And finally, if you really dig MIT stuff, there is an online one variable calculus course that has a lot of the same great stuff as the other MIT site.

Now turn off Facebook or My-space and go to work... down to five weeks to go... FIVE??? ... remember in September? You talked about that five... now is the time to work on making it happen. No music, no TV...just calculus.

Late Additions:

I just had someone call my attention to a link with calculus video lectures done by Selwyn Hollis, who was called "a truly excellent expositor". He even has links to Ipod and iphone... take calculus to the beach?