Madam, - I take issue with Joe Foyle's contention that "Mathematical concepts, like religious ones, cannot be visualised" (August 17th). What is a graph if not a "visualisation" of a complex, abstract mathematical concept?
Effective teaching and learning of any abstract concept involves the creation of mental models of images in the mind of the student. The role of the teacher is to help the student to visualise the abstract concept, ideally by relating it to the real world.
The problem is that many teachers have difficulty in making the abstract concrete. This is where information technology has a role in education. Computer graphics and animations can bring abstract concepts to life, enabling students to visualise concepts very effectively. For example, when dealing with the equation of a line, changing the value of one variable and immediately, in real time, being able to see the result in terms of the graphical representation, helps students to make the connection.
Mr Foyle is correct that modern teenagers are more "visually tied" than their parents. Whether this is a good or a bad things is moot. The fact is they are. In this context it makes no sense to try to wind the clock back. We must exploit their visual acumen to teach them about the world they live in and this means using the IT tools that are available today, and the more powerful ones that will be available tomorrow.
So, rather than dismissing "the VDU tide" as contributing to the high failure rate in mathematics, we should be exploiting the effectiveness of well designed, computer-based learning.
A blended learning approach should be adopted, where computers are used to supplement and enhance traditional teaching methods rather than replacing them.
Our neighbours in the UK have effectively integrated IT into the teaching of mathematics and are already seeing benefits in terms of higher attaintment at primary level. While it was an aspiration of the Government's IT 2000 initiative to integrate IT into the curriculum, we still lag far behind other countries. - Yours, etc,
LYNDA DONOVAN, M.Sc., H.Dip. ICT Ed., Deansgrange Business Park, Blackrock, Co Dublin.