Anyone who has survived high school or college calculus has at least heard the two terms differential and integral. Basically, differential calculus is the science of breaking complex curves down in to tiny pieces one can easily describe. A circle becomes a series of very short, straight lines in differential calculus. Integral calculus puts the very short, straight lines back together to approximate the real-life circle. Pretty cool.
Now, think about education. In education, we use the terms "differentiate" and "integrate" - the verbs around differential and integral. When a teacher "differentiates" a lesson, is that anything like "breaking complex curves down in to tiny pieces one can easily describe?" When a teacher integrates a lesson, is that anything like "put(ting) the very short, straight lines back together to approximate the real-life circle?"
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1 comment:
Love the math comparison -- You are right on the point. The language of thought explains math which in turn creates a mathematical image for language. I think such connections help kids too.
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