Nagle Lecture Series
1998 First Nagle Lecture
Steven G. Krantz
Contemporary Issues in Mathematics Education
March 19, 1998
Professor Krantz is a Professor of Mathematics at Washington University. He has written over a hundred papers and twenty books, including How To Teach Mathematics. He has received numerous honors, including the Chauvenet and Beckenbach prizes of the MAA.
Summary
Professor Krantz spoke about "Contemporary Issues in Mathematics Education", primarily the controversies over non-traditional teaching techniques. He said that the three major goals for teaching a course are:
- To teach the student to read a book, specifically, the course text.
- To set a pace and organize the material
- To teach the student to conceptualize the material in his own mind, so he can communicate it.
He also discussed teaching evaluations, group teaching, and other issues.