Search All of the Math Forum:
Views expressed in these public forums are not endorsed by
NCTM or The Math Forum.
|
|
|
|
Textbook opinions
Posted:
May 7, 1996 8:44 PM
|
|
I had a chance to teach two different courses for teachers using the
Triola book. I think it does an excellent job in teaching data
crunching. The problems come from real life situations and are
interesting.
His sidebars in the book are also catch the attention of the
students. However, he is admittedly weak in the design of the study.
The book is designed for liberal arts students who are already
skeptical about anything mathematics. Tothat end, the text does a
good job. He follows a case study all the way through a chapter to
keep the continuity of the lesson. However, he glosses over how to frame the initial question and the data collection.
The Johnson book appears functional at first glance. I think he
spent so much effort trying to make it interesting that the content
became secondary. Whenever, he gets started in a good explanation of
statistics theory, he interrupts it with another case study. It's
almost like watching a good movie that has commercials every five
minutes. It is hard to keep focused on the main idea. I think it
will also be a good source of supplementary work for my students
I plan to use the Moore book (BPS) and supplement it with the Triola
book.
Larry Peterson
Bonneville High School Home
251 E Laker Way 4470 S 1650 W
Ogden, Utah 84405 Roy, Utah 84067
801-476-5808 801-731-4267
|
|
|
|
