Math Links

An emeritus professor from Queens College questions algebra's role in quantitative literacy and workforce preparation

A pre-college bridge program using an assessment software is described, with some note of increased mentoring, tutoring availability and accommodations between first and second year implementation

Published by University of Chicago Press, July 2012. "Math and science hold powerful places in contemporary society, setting the foundations for entry into some of the most robust and highest-paying industries. However, effective math and science education is not equally available to all students, with some of the poorest students-those who would benefit most-going egregiously underserved. This ongoing problem with education highlights one of the core causes of the widening class gap. While this educational inequality can be attributed to a number of economic and political causes, in Empowering Science and Mathematics Education in Urban Communities, Angela Calabrese Barton and Edna Tan demonstrate that it is augmented by a consistent failure to integrate student history, culture, and social needs into the core curriculum. They argue that teachers and schools should create hybrid third spaces-neither classroom nor home-in which underserved students can merge their personal worlds with those of math and science. A host of examples buttress this argument: schools where these spaces have been instituted now provide students not only an immediate motivation to engage the subjects most critical to their future livelihoods but also the broader math and science literacy necessary for robust societal engagement. A unique look at a frustratingly understudied subject, Empowering Science and Mathematics Education pushes beyond the idea of teaching for social justice and into larger questions of how and why students participate in math and science. " Excerpts in Google Books

Abstract: "This research seeks to look into the design process that promotes the development of an educational computer game that supports teaching and learning processes. The research specifically looks at the design of an educational computer game for teaching and learning of the topic of functions. The topic is essential in the teaching and learning of Mathematics courses such as Discrete Mathematics, Real Analysis and Calculus among others at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) Kenya. The computer game was developed using the Basic Unified process (BUP) which is a streamlined version of the rational unified process (RUP). This is an object oriented methodology mostly used for small projects with few end users. Due to the few numbers of end users we used interview method of data collection to gather requirements for the computer game. A paper prototype was used to validate the requirements. Use cases were used for both analysis and design of the game while Class diagrams and activity diagrams were purely used for the design of the game. Owens' six top level design anatomy aided in the design of the computer game. The overall computer game design was based on Crawfords' computer game design sequence model. The well designed and developed game met all its user requirements and was able to facilitate the teaching and learning of functions to Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science students who were taking Discrete mathematics in their first year of study at JKUATs' Taita/Taveta campus. Development of heuristics for measuring interest, fun and motivation are recommendations given to aid in the evaluation of user satisfaction of educational computer games."

Includes a literature review, challenges and drawbacks, and the use of discussion boards, feedback and student response systems.

Computer visualization, "For each natural number n, we draw a periodic curve starting from the origin, intersecting the x-axis at n and its multiples. The prime numbers are those that have been intersected by only two curves: the prime number itself and one."

"In this paper, we will describe work that we have done in this direction using as a test-bed an edu-game for number factorization, Prime Climb. This game includes a pedagogical agent that provides adaptive interventions during game playing based on a model of student learning [13, 18]. Here we focus on how we re-implemented the original Prime Climb game into a framework that enables rapid prototyping and testing of different design hypothesis. We also discuss preliminary work on using eye tracking data on user attention patterns to better understand if and how students process the agent‟s adaptive interventions." (from the introduction)

A 2012 book from Springer focusing on international public math awareness activities

"The article reports the main insights gained from a study that implemented a game-enhanced learning environment for the training of pre-service elementary school teachers. Teachers taking an undergraduate mathematics methods course experienced some of the ways in which online educational games could help students internalize key mathematical concepts across the school curriculum while at the same time improving their attitudes towards the subject. The course also familiarized teachers with the design principles for constructivist gaming environments. Findings indicate a positive impact on teachers' competence in selecting, evaluating, and productively using online games as an instructional tool."

"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."

Criticism of technology in math and science education, particularly asserts studies that outline benefits of tools either lack rigor or are effectively marketing for such resources.

(Abstract only online, full text requires subscription) "The pipeline toward careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) begins to leak in high school, when some students choose not to take advanced mathematics and science courses. We conducted a field experiment testing whether a theory-based intervention that was designed to help parents convey the importance of mathematics and science courses to their high school-aged children would lead them to take more mathematics and science courses in high school. The three-part intervention consisted of two brochures mailed to parents and a Web site, all highlighting the usefulness of STEM courses. This relatively simple intervention led students whose parents were in the experimental group to take, on average, nearly one semester more of science and mathematics in the last 2 years of high school, compared with the control group. Parents are an untapped resource for increasing STEM motivation in adolescents, and the results demonstrate that motivational theory can be applied to this important pipeline problem. "

"This is an exploration of the hypothesis that unique belief systems depend for their coherence on distinctive patterns typically embodied in geometrical symbols in two dimensions. On the basis of that assumption, the case tentatively explored here is that of the "incommensurability" of the 5-fold Star of Islam and the 6-fold Star of David of Judaism -- both symbols appearing on flags of the nations having those distinct faiths. ... The approach taken here explores the possibility that the "pieces" only fit together on a three-dimensional surface, namely a sphere. It is the spherical geometry that then merits consideration, together with the challenge of how to get from any "mis-fitting" two-dimensional layout to a three-dimensional form. Of course, two-dimensional layouts are far more readily comprehensible. Hence the focus on them. However the three-dimensional layout has the potential of rendering comprehensible a far more elegant layout which may well exemplify intuitions characteristic of the faiths so dramatically opposed. The approach follows from various earlier explorations of the potential of mathematics to offer a new perspectives on these issues" ....

"The first webinar is July 17, 2012 at 3pm eastern/12noon pacific and will focus on creating accessible math images, giving participants a clear understanding of the end-to-end process of converting conventional math display into digital formats that can be accessed by students with print disabilities. Special attention will be given to the tools being created by the OSEP-funded DIAGRAM Center to facilitate image description. "

"June 23 marks the 100th birthday of Alan Turing. If I had to name five people whose personal efforts led to the defeat of Nazi Germany, the English mathematician would surely be on my list."

"A research team led by Carnegie Mellon University's Robert Siegler has identified a major source of the gap -- U. S. students' inadequate knowledge of fractions and division. Although fractions and division are taught in elementary school, even many college students have poor knowledge of them. The research team found that fifth graders' understanding of fractions and division predicted high school students' knowledge of algebra and overall math achievement, even after statistically controlling for parents' education and income and for the children's own age, gender, I.Q., reading comprehension, working memory, and knowledge of whole number addition, subtraction and multiplication. Published in Psychological Science, the findings demonstrate an immediate need to improve teaching and learning of fractions and division."

Abstract only online, full text requires subscription or purchase. Results of one study of 10-12 year old children in eight classrooms in three Australian primary schools leads researchers to suggest "educators should carefully consider the application and appropriateness of games before employing them as a vehicle for introducing mathematical concepts. "

"A University of Missouri researcher has found that children's weight is associated with their math performance. When compared with children who were never obese, boys and girls whose obesity persisted from the start of kindergarten through fifth grade performed worse on the math tests, starting in first grade."

"In In Pursuit of the Unknown, celebrated mathematician Ian Stewart uses a handful of mathematical equations to explore the vitally important connections between math and human progress."

"What if I were to tell you that Angry Birds had been surpassed in the App Store - by a game that involves solving algebra equations? Because that's what DragonBox did."