LR Drill Set 4, Question 5
Mathematician: Mathematics is often taught as if the(84 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AThe paramount goal(15 more words not shown)
- BIt is no(26 more words not shown)
- COne goal in(15 more words not shown)
- DLearning detailed information(15 more words not shown)
- EThe more mathematics(17 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
If students come to love math, I can see why they'd want to learn more. Getting them to love it is the harder part.
Think about a class that does nothing but deliver formulas. I can understand wanting to replace that experience with something that makes students curious. But announcing that mathematics is beautiful doesn't ensure the students will feel that way. Some might become interested; others might tune out. That's a practical question about how the proposed teaching would work.
The mathematician gives us a reason to favor the approach if students do develop that appreciation: they will learn details on their own, take more courses, and ultimately learn much more mathematics. Let's keep that promised long-term benefit separate from the question of how easy it is to produce.
What we’re looking for
Now we're asked for a principle supporting the recommendation. We need a rule about what teaching should prioritize. I'd expect something favoring an approach that develops appreciation or motivates further study. The important move is from a desirable effect of this approach to a reason teachers should give it greater emphasis.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This makes the amount students ultimately learn the top priority. The mathematician says developing appreciation leads students to learn much more mathematics in the long run. If maximizing that eventual learning is the paramount goal, we have a reason to favor the approach that delivers it.
A doesn't demonstrate how to make every student love mathematics. It supports the recommendation by making the claimed long-term benefit the measure we should use. A principle can strengthen that reasoning without answering every practical question about putting the approach into effect.
- B
“No more important” leaves room for equal importance. If learning details now and becoming motivated to take more courses were equally important, B would be true. But the mathematician wants us to give appreciation greater importance. B is relevant to the comparison without establishing the priority that the argument recommends.
- C
One goal isn't necessarily the leading goal. A teacher could agree that appreciation matters while making the transmission of detailed information the main priority. C gives appreciation a place in the classroom but doesn't explain why it deserves more emphasis than the competing approach.
- D
This gives the detailed-information approach a way to produce appreciation too. Maybe students learn enough mathematics to see what is interesting about it. That doesn't explain why directly cultivating appreciation should take priority over teaching the details. It could instead give us a reason to think the two goals can be pursued through the older approach.
- E
More courses producing more appreciation could reinforce the process the mathematician describes. But we still need a rule saying why teachers should prioritize that process. E adds another effect of taking courses without telling us what the central goal of teaching should be. A supplies that standard.
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