我们正在教孩子们错误的数学

我们正在教孩子们错误的数学

现代生活中，从生到死、从贸易到旅游，都离不开数学的思维，许多问题可以靠人和计算的配合更高效而准确地解决。几十年前的人们根本无法想象今天科技产品的巨变，然而孩子们的数学课本还是一成不变 。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

futuristic未来派的[fjuːtʃə'rɪstɪk]

billow汹涌；翻腾['bɪləʊ]

mathematical applications数学应用

astounding令人震惊的[ə'staʊndɪŋ]

formulate规划；用公式表示['fɔːmjʊleɪt]

equip装备，配备[ɪ'kwɪp]

deliberation审议；考虑[dɪ,lɪbə'reɪʃ(ə)n]

synonymous同义的[sɪ'nɒnɪməs]

We are teaching today’s children the wrong type of maths（854 words）

By Joanna Perkins

Step into the new Winton mathematics gallery at the Science Museum in London,designed by the late Zaha Hadid,and one is transported into a futuristic landscape where billowing clouds encircle a treasure trove of seemingly unconnected exhibits.

Once inside,a journey through mathematical applications to all aspects of the human condition appears — life and death,form and beauty,trade and travel. Intricate circular slide rules,archaic and beautiful,are positioned a short leap away from quantum chips; an abacus overlooks Charles Babbage’s difference engine. The richness of mathematics over centuries is immediately astounding.

And that is the beauty of it — this is not mathematics for mathematics’sake. This is the real world,described,formulated,studied,created by mathematics.

Maths is hot in British schools. It is extremely popular with 16 to 18-year-olds,who are increasingly taking the subject at A-level. As a component of the so-called Stem subjects — science,technology,engineering and maths — it provides a ticket into the world of scientific possibilities and,importantly,to jobs.

Or does it?

The maths that today’s students learn will not equip them with the real-world Stem skills that industry,science,government and commerce demand. Employers do not require the same maths that was around in the 1600s,or even 50 years ago. Yet that still forms the core of education policy.

The machinery that powers mathematics is crucial. And today’s computing machinery is beyond the imagination of anyone who lived before the late 20th century.

Before modern computers,calculations were very expensive because they had to be done by hand. Therefore in real life you would try very hard to minimise the amount of computation,at the expense of more upfront deliberation in defining and abstracting precise questions to tackle. It was a meticulous process.

Nowadays,a much more experimental approach can be combined with a looser initial question because computation is so cheap and effective that one can try a multitude of approaches.

These processes,starting with defining questions,translating them into maths,computing the answers and interpreting results,are the cornerstones of computational thinking. Many people,though,do not think of this as maths,which traditionally people assume to be synonymous with pure calculation: narrow and devoid of real-world application.

To significantly increase uptake and engagement of maths in schools we need to focus on computational thinking,the process that drives real-world application of mathematics. The magic is in optimising how process,computer and human can be put together to solve problems.

This approach needs knowledge of what is possible,experience of how to apply it and know-how of today’s machinery for performing it. These are the core Stem skills that a 21st-century student deserves,harnessing the power of automation.

The Winton gallery,housed adjacent to the recently installed computing gallery,shows,above all,the continued and exponential expansion of applications of mathematics. Where once we could apply basic geometry to ancient surveying,we now use diverse,complicated mathematical techniques to design aircraft,accurately predict mortality rates and design gravity-defying structures.

Maths is continually evolving,akin to Hadid’s undulating clouds. It has come of age and it is vitally important that education reflects — stands on — these advancements.