"Italian psychologist Geatano Kanizsa first described this optical illusion in 1955 as a subjective or illusory contour illusion. The study of such optical illusions has led to an understanding of how the brain and eyes perceive optical information and has been used considerably by artists and designers alike. They show the power of human imagination in filling in the gaps to make implied constructions in our own minds.
Kanizsa figures and similar illusions are a really useful way to encourage learners to 'say what they see' and to explain how they see it. It offers a chance for others to become aware of the different views available in a diagram and share their own thoughts without the 'danger' of being wrong; many people see different things."
"the three major sections of the manual will be Fluency with Whole Numbers, Fluency with Fractions, and Particular Aspects of Geometry and Measurement. The Fluency with Whole Numbers section is further broken down into subcategories given the wealth of information for this area. The remaining two sections, Fluency with Fractions, and Particular Aspects of Geometry and Measurement are presented only as broad categories because the amount of available information is considerably limited relative to the whole number literature. Finally, two standard protocol interventions are presented as examples of comprehensive, evidence-based mathematics instruction that have been shown effective at increasing mathematics performance according to the Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse."
LOG IN February 22, 2012 at 2pm Eastern US time: http://tinyurl.com/math20event
During the event, John Mason will lead a conversation about multiplication as scaling, and answer questions about his books, projects and communities.
All events in the Math Future weekly series: http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/events
The recording will be at: http://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/JohnMason
Your time zone: http://bit.ly/wQYN1Y
Event challenge!
What good multiplication tasks about scaling do you know?
Share links and thoughts!
John writes about elastic multiplication: "It is often said that 'multiplication is repeated addition' when what is meant is that 'repeated addition is an instance of multiplication'. I have been developing some tasks which present 'scaling as multiplication' based around familiarity with elastic bands. Participants would benefit from having an elastic (rubber) band to hand which they have cut so as to make a strip; wider is better than thinner if you have a choice."
About John Mason
John Mason has been teaching mathematics ever since he was asked to tutor a fellow student when he was fifteen. In college he was at first unofficial tutor, then later an official tutor for mathematics students in the years behind him, while tutoring school students as well. After a BSc at Trinity College, Toronto in Mathematics, and an MSc at Massey College, Toronto, he went to Madison Wisconsin where he encountered Polya's film 'Let Us Teach Guessing', and completed a PhD in Combinatorial Geometry. The film released a style of teaching he had experienced at high school from his mathematics teacher Geoff Steel, and his teaching changed overnight.
His first appointment was at the Open University, which involved among other things the design and implementation of the first mathematics summer school (5000 students over 11 weeks on three sites in parallel). He called upon his experience of being taught, to institute active-problem-solving sessions, w
Math calculators are very helpful for students in solving their math problems. From algebra to geometry, trigonometry to statistics, these calculators are very helpful. Teachers and Parents also get much help from these calculators if they don't find the solution to some difficult math problems.
"In this article we introduce the free educational mathematics software GeoGebra. This open source tool extends concepts of dynamic geometry to the fields of algebra and calculus. You can use GeoGebra both as a teaching tool and to create interactive web pages for students from middle school up to college level. Specifically designed for educational purposes, GeoGebra can help you to foster experimental, problem-oriented and discovery learning of mathematics. We will illustrate the basic ideas of the software and some of its versatile possibilities by discussing several interactive examples."
Schlumberger Excellence in Educational Development, Inc. (SEED) offers creative math puzzles, with solutions. Puzzle categories include:
* Number Sense
* Arithmetic
* Probability
* Algebraic Thinking
* Geometry, Spatial Reasoning, and Visualization
* Topology
* Logic
* Combinatorics
* Miscellaneous
Algebra Maths wiki Project Based learning online classroom: Logic Inc is a fictitious consulting company created by Mrs. Norfar, a mathematics instructor. The company was created to enable students to develop real-world skills while learning Algebra I, Algebra II, Algebra III, Statistics and Geometry principals. This site is designed to keep parents and students up to date on what is occurring in the classroom.
Fundamentals of Mathematics is a work text that covers the traditional topics studied in a modern prealgebra course, as well as topics of estimation, elementary analytic geometry, and introductory algebra. It is intended for students who (1) have had a previous course in prealgebra, (2) wish to meet the prerequisite of a higher level course such as elementary algebra, and (3) need to review fundamental mathematical concepts and techniques. NOTE: This collection is a work in progress, and the content has not yet been marked up in CNXML. You can download PDF copies of individual chapters in from their respective modules.
Explore all of the best K-6 math tools the web has to offer! From basic addition to geometry and fractions, from virtual manipulates to interactive games, from online calculators and converters to graphing tools. You will discover resources for every math topic you teach.