简介：
Word Problems Fail Math Students
数学应用题对学生不利？！
The old "two trains traveling at 60 miles per hour in opposite directions" style of math word problems is less effective at training students than is dealing with abstract concepts, such as finding the value of x. Adam Hinterthuer reports.
“两列火车以60英里的时速相向而行……”，还记得这道老掉牙的数学应用题吗？但回想一下你当时天天刷的这种应用题真的提高了你的数学成绩吗？
撰文/播音 亚当•欣特蒂雷 （Adam Hinterthuer）
翻译 吴东远
审校 李轩
If a train heading east leaves Chicago at noon and a train heading west leaves New York an hour later, will that make you any better at math? New evidence says "No." In a report in the April 25th issue of the journal Science, researchers from Ohio State University say the preferred method of teaching math just doesn't make the grade. The researchers taught undergraduates mathematical principles they would need to solve future problems. Some were taught using concrete visual examples, like cups filled with water or a pizza cut into slices. Other students learned abstract formulas in terms like "n=x."
“正午时分，一列火车由芝加哥站出发向东行驶，另一列火车于1小时后离开纽约站向西行驶……”演算类似这样的应用题，会提高我们的数学能力吗？新的证据给出了否定的回答。俄亥俄州立大学的研究人员在《科学》杂志上的一篇论文中称，老师们偏爱的这种教学方式，对学习数学没一点帮助。研究人员采用两种方法向本科生传授他们日后需要用到的数学原理，一部分学生通过具体实例来学习，比如切成几份的披萨等；另一部分学生则直接学习抽象的公式，例如“n=x”。
When asked to solve new problems using these teachings, major discrepancies appeared. In one case, abstract-learning students scored an average of 80 percent on a test. Their "real-world" counterparts, however, seemed unable to transfer their knowledge to a new situation, posting only a 44 percent average. The researchers say using concrete examples is alluring, because students seem to learn lessons faster. However, students who take the time to get abstract concepts down are able to get on the train before it leaves the station.
当用这些知识来解决新的问题时，学生们的差距就显现出来了。在一次考查中，通过抽象方式学习的学生平均得分为80分，而在“现实世界”中学习的小伙伴们，却似乎不太会将学到的知识应用到新问题上——他们的平均分只有44分。研究人员说，用实例来教学，对学生来说的确很有吸引力，因为学生们看上去学得更快。但是，花时间把抽象的概念消化吸收的学生，才能够解决实际中的新问题，以不变应万变。
(题图来源：http://www.educationnews.org/)
