The bit about the triangle in the box is a really good example of thinking vs applying a formula...
A math prof of mine told me that in the US, a student typically does 90% drill and 10% concept, but that in Japan, it's the opposite. In other words, the Japanese student would spend 90% time figuring out how to find the area of a triangle (perhaps taking a few different angles toward deriving the formula), whereas the American student would get a brief review and then a lot of applying the formula.
Has anyone else heard about this? It's just something I heard once.
There might be more to it than just a myth. Eh, I'll have to read more about it later. Things can vary so much from teacher to teacher, classroom to classroom, that it's hard to get away from anecdote on something like this.
A math prof of mine told me that in the US, a student typically does 90% drill and 10% concept, but that in Japan, it's the opposite. In other words, the Japanese student would spend 90% time figuring out how to find the area of a triangle (perhaps taking a few different angles toward deriving the formula), whereas the American student would get a brief review and then a lot of applying the formula.
Has anyone else heard about this? It's just something I heard once.