Math & Math Education:
The NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) started the education standards movement by creating the standards for math education. The standards are founded in the questions, "What does it really mean to understand mathematics?," "How do students really learn new concepts?", and "What mathematics is really needed to help adults in the modern world?"
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John
Allen Paulos has written some of the best popular math books
of our time. He has an ability to make the concepts of the most
advanced forms of mathematics available and non-threatening to
the common reader. Try these books: |
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Martin Gardner has written some fine books making complex mathematical ideas easy to understand and fun to read about. Gotcha contains cartoons that make it easy to follow high level ideas. Also be sure to keep up with various sources of fact-checking. These include Snopes and Fact Check. Another detail to watch when reading controversial topics, do the pages cite their sources? |
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Science & Science Education:
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The Association for the Advancement of Science has given us direction towards which our science education should change. We need to see increased understanding of the methods of science, the big concepts of science, and how scientific thinking differs from other types of thinking. Awareness of the methods and nature of science are strongly encouraged
in the The Skeptical Inquirer,
published by CSICOP. Also,
look for Martin Gardner, Carl Sagan, and Susan Blackmoore has written very thoughtful, and respectful, works on the subject of the science and parapsychology. She is neither a naysayer nor a blind faith believer. She writes with respect for the human experience and the analytical value of science. |
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If you like questioning science at the fringe or cutting edge there are some great resources out there. Try the site Science Frontiers. Check out the books What We Believe But Cannot Prove and Seven Experiments That Could Change the World. |
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If you are a teacher seeking resources, try these sites: GLOBE program involves students internationally in collecting environmental data, and interacting with scientists and each other using the internet. This is real students doing real science and submitting their data to real scientists. |
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Swarthmore's Math Forum and the Learning Sites Library both have a lists of useful lessons well developed lessons |
Math & Science Humor:
For those sufficiently immersed in science to recognize the special
type of humor that correlates to science, I would suggest The Journal
of Irreproducable Results, The
Annals of Improbable Research,Science
Made Stupid by Tom Weller, and Mathematics and Humor by John Allen
Paulos.
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