Group items tagged

A college institutional researcher reveals some data concerning math placement tests and the pressures impacting students to opt for more difficult math courses without adequate preparation and unsatisfactory results. He writes: "In my mind, this disconnect exemplifies the degree to which incoming students and families don't grasp the difference between going to college to acquire content knowledge and going to college to develop skills and dispositions. ... [I]f students understand that college is about developing skills and dispositions, I think that they might be more likely to appreciate the chance to start at the beginning that is appropriate for them, savoring each experience like a slow cooked, seven course meal because they know that the culmination of college is made exponentially better by the particular ordering and integrating of the flavors that have come before."

A blog featuring math games puzzles, activities, teaching and instruction tips.

"In previous posts, I have summed up my position on Khan Academy as follows: Khan Academy teaches only one part of mathematics-procedures-and that isn't the most important part. Writing about mathematics, developing a disposition for mathematical thinking, demonstrating a conceptual understanding of mathematical topics are all more important than procedures. That said, procedures are still important, and Khan Academy provides one venue where students can learn them. In the end, I think every young person should have an account there. Even if only one in a thousand or ten thousand benefit, that would be a terrific outcome. "

Examining the evidence behind guidelines for encouraging girls into math and science and confronting stereotypes

"Late last month, Curtis Cooper of the University of Central Missouri moved one small step closer to Euclid's infinity, when he announced that 257,885,161-1 is prime. This is now the largest known prime number, eclipsing the previous record-holder, which had been discovered at UCLA in 2008. The new number has 17,425,170 digits-just writing them down makes for a 22.45-megabyte text file. The UCLA number had knocked an earlier number of Cooper's, from 2006, out of the record books. "

Among a number of math related questions on this blog, this post focuses on a particular sequence of integrals

Mathematical models of cosmology reconsidered

See in particular, Digital Learning Dot #3, Personalized Learning in Math Class

Mathematics teachers disagreeing with the math teaching methods espoused by the Khan Academy, including words from a Stanford PhD candidate: ""When you attempt to distribute mathematics through any of these media [such as YouTube videos, digital photos, MP3s, PDFs, blog posts, spoken words, and printed text] it changes the definition of mathematics."

From a conference held May 19-20, 2012, includes: "Math Strategies in Digital Storytelling: Effects of Multiple Pedagogical Agents on Learning Single-Digit Addition Strategies", "Connected to Word Problems: Improving Mathematical Problem Solving While Exergaming," "Digital Modeling Artifacts as Geometric Thinking & Learning: Top, Side and Perspective Views to Improve Spatial Abilities," "Credibility of Culturally Situated Design Tools: Mathematics and Black Identity," "The Use of Dynamic Geometry Software for the development of Specialized Subject Matter Knowledge."

a new math blog

Gaming coin flip probability by bending coins with pliers and analyzing results

Do-it-yourself designs

Was able to add up to 8 and understood 0 concept, features video but not of this experiment

Discusses inferior textbook publishing practices and offers advice for evaluation of materials by parents

"There may be a reason you can't figure out some of those math problems in your son or daughter's math text and it might have nothing at all to do with you. That math homework you're trying to help your child muddle through might include problems with no possible solution." Lack of quality control in text publishing described and evaluation suggestions for parents offered.

University of Delaware researchers find: "Even [when their children are] as young as 22 months, American parents draw boys' attention to numerical concepts far more often than girls'. Indeed, parents speak to boys about number concepts twice as often as they do girls. For cardinal-numbers speech, in which a number is attached to an obvious noun reference - "Here are five raisins" or "Look at those two beds" - the difference was even larger. Mothers were three times more likely to use such formulations while talking to boys."