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Re: What's in an expression?

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg132434] Re: What's in an expression?
  • From: "Louis Talman" <talmanl at gmail.com>
  • Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 03:45:45 -0400 (EDT)
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On Wed, 12 Mar 2014 01:29:00 -0600, Richard Fateman  
<fateman at cs.berkeley.edu> wrote:

> Namely, it requires students to (a) derive the correct answer and then
> (b) understand the computer syntax and type the answer into the computer
> correctly.

While (b) is a source of student complaints, it isn't really the problem  
you seem to think.  The students who have trouble with it are precisely  
the ones who have trouble with algebra in the first place.  The machine  
merely enforces good syntax, whereas a human reader is likely to be  
(inappropriately) forgiving.

--Louis A. Talman
   Department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences
   Metropolitan State University of Denver

   <http://rowdy.msudenver.edu/~talmanl>



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