[sudo-discuss] math and machine learning classes

[Mike Schachter]

Hi Max! I had some experience volunteering a few hours a week at some great
non-hackerspace nonprofits over the years - an adult literacy center
(Philadelphia Center for Literacy), another place that tutored homeless
kids  (LA School on Wheels), and after that a place that focused mostly on
writing for kids (826 Valencia in SF). At Noisebridge, I gave classes on
Machine Learning periodically for almost 2 years.

>From those experiences, I found that being application driven (opposed to
theorem driven), and having personalized one-on-one or many-on-one
instruction was pretty effective. I expect the students to have diverse
needs, from studying for the GED, to learning enough math for parents to
keep up with their child's homework, to people who want to learn math just
for fun. I'm also hoping to move people to the computer a bit more as well,
using python to construct and visualize basic functions (think like
f(x)=x^2), and to learn very basic programming techniques, like variables,
arrays, and for loops.

There are many massive online courses these days, and sometimes at
Noisebridge ML people have formed small groups to work through those
courses, which is one way to "scale" to the level of a hackerspace. I don't
have a more specific strategy right now, and am also comprised primarily of
ears and interested in hearing other people's ideas.

  mike



On Mon, Nov 4, 2013 at 9:30 AM, Max Klein <isalix at gmail.com> wrote:

> Mike,
>
> I would be a potential student and teacher for your ideas. I wonder if you
> could tell of any success you've had in the past with teaching Math in the
> Hackespace? I've been a part on and off of Math Education at Sudo Room and
> have a Bachelor's in Math. From my perspective, Mathematics, is really
> difficult to teach and learn outside of the School or University, because
> it's so prerequisite based. Each new theorem builds on the last. I feel
> like I personally have hit a wall with how we can teach math at a
> Hackerspace that isn't one-on-one student/master. I'd love to see new
> approaches and break the traditional academic mindset of how this is
> learned, and am all ears.
>
> Max
>
>
> On 1 November 2013 10:48, Mike Schachter <mschachter at eigenminds.com>wrote:
>
>> Hi sudoroom! A little while back I mentioned an interest in starting
>> classes that work towards data literacy, and wanted to give an update with
>> some ideas and plans, with the hope that people who are interested in
>> helping out or already doing similar things would come out of the woodwork.
>>
>> First - I've heard about the morning math meetups through the list and
>> think it sounds great. My partner and I want to teach a hands-on curriculum
>> for "Math Literacy" to interested people of all educational backgrounds. It
>> would include everything from arithmetic to algebra to geometry,
>> trigonometry, and calculus. I'm hoping to even have a basic introduction to
>> plotting functions and working with arrays using web-based python terminals.
>>
>> I want to find interested students and teachers, so if any of this
>> appeals to you, please let me know! I'm going to make a trip out to
>> sudoroom probably in two weeks, perhaps we could meet up and talk about it.
>> I'll be at Noisebridge this Tuesday as well.
>>
>> Second - I'm going to restart machine learning classes at Noisebridge,
>> and am also looking for interested students and teachers. The ML wiki page,
>> along with a link to join the mailing list, is here:
>>
>> https://www.noisebridge.net/Machine_Learning
>>
>> See you soon,
>>
>>   mike
>>
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>>
>
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