Re: NITROGEN'S oxidation number in N2O

From: Josh Halpern (j.halpern_at_incoming.verizon.net)
Date: 06/23/04 

Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 00:28:48 GMT

Richard Schultz wrote:

>In article <cb78j7$91$3@puck.cc.emory.edu>, Lloyd Parker <lparker@nospamemory.edu> wrote:
>: schultr@mail.biu.ack.il (Richard Schultz) wrote:
>
>:>One thing that I have learned in my years as a TA and as a lecturer --
>:>never, ever teach the students two ways of solving a problem. All you
>:>will succeed in doing is confusing them.
>
>: Boy that's the truth! I teach one way for limiting reagents, for example --
>: take each reagent and see how much product it can make; the smallest amount
>: is for the LR. Some books teach a different way, and some students try to
>: use it.
>
>Trying to teach multiple ways of solving problems of the "balancing equations"
>and "which is the limiting reagent" type reminds me of the old Tom Lehrer
>song about the New Math, where the idea is to understand what you are doing,
>as opposed to the Old Math, where the idea was to get the right answer.
>

I knew the "new math" was a goner when my mom (a first grade teacher)
started
asking me about sets......

She could teach a stone to read, but with the new math they didn't have
a chance.
Which raises the point that anyone who introduces difficult material had
better
REALLY understand it. And they better REALLY present it in the simplest
manner.

If you can't find a simple manner (unless you are teaching a graduate
class) it
is almost always better to stay away from that material

>While teaching some advanced subjects from multiple points of view is IMO
>worth it because the new explanation can give additional insight into
>the fundamental principles, there really is only one fundamental principle
>in balancing a chemical equation (conservation of mass, well, I suppose two
>if you count conservation of charge), and the methods of solving the problem
>are only different ways of saving time on the bookkeeping.
>

You can introduce the multiple points of view ONLY after the class has
mastered
the way you introduced the subject. Otherwise you WILL confuse everyone.

josh halpern

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