Geometry students often wonder about the importance of construction techniques. Are they the only way to create geometric figures? What purpose do they serve? How do these techniques relate to other parts of geometry? This article introduces a project used at the high school level that gets all students in a class engaged with construction, gets…

Generating mathematical conjectures is an important mathematical habit of mind for preservice teachers to develop so that they can, in turn, help their students to develop this skill. In this paper we present a classroom episode in which preservice mathematics teachers experience conjecturing in the context of a rich, open-ended task. They also…

Every object we think of or encounter, whether a natural or human-made, has a regular or irregular shape. In its own intrinsic conceptual design, it has elements of mathematics, science, engineering, and arts, etc., which are part of the object's geometric shape, form and structure. Geometry is not only an important part of mathematics, but it is…

The implications of Earth's ocean being little explored may not be immediately evident to individuals who are not ocean literate. For this reason, initiatives to improve ocean literacy must articulate compelling reasons for ocean exploration. A lesson plan that addresses this issue has been developed as part of the education and outreach program…

The author and his first-year algebra students explored the quadratic behavior behind the parabolic shape of fountains at the local family splash park. This hands-on discovery project has three main parts: (1) gathering data by experimenting with and photographing the fountains; (2) analyzing the photographs to obtain numerical data; and (3)…

We describe exercises in which students use PascGaloisJE to formulate conjectures about certain binomial identities which hold when the binomial coefficients are interpreted as elements in the cyclic group Z[subscript p] of integers modulo a prime integer "p". In addition to having an appealing visual component, these exercises are open-ended and…

Children possess a genuine curiosity for exploring the natural world around them. One third grade teacher capitalized on this inherent trait by leading her students on "A Geometric Scavenger Hunt." The four-lesson inquiry investigation described in this article integrates mathematics and science. Among the students' discoveries was the fact that…

The process of investigating some of the properties of diagonals and other geometric concepts with a group of 11-year-old girls is presented. Possible changes that could have been made in the lesson are discussed, and examples of individual student work are provided. (MP)

A method for approaching the value of pi using a transparent sheet of parallel lines is discussed. (MP)

Details of pupil exploration as to the largest number of sides that a polygon could have on a geoboard are presented. The problem is not seen as open-ended, but many different avenues of pursuit stem from it. (MP)

This article describes an activity in measurement and geometry in which sixth-grade students explore the volume and surface area of a donut. Through calculation, creative thinking, and discovery, the students enhanced their geometric vocabulary and reasoning. (Contains 9 figures.)

Details of a class exploration of graphs that drew upon knowledge about the behavior of particular kinds of functions and applied them in a new context are provided. (MP)

The nature of an investigation into numbers termed Nearly Isosceles Pythagorean Triples (NIPTs) is detailed. The exploration, even though it is stated to have no practical value, is defended as helping pupils see the beauty of patterns in mathematics. Two questions regarding the pattern of generating NIPTs are noted. (MP)

A lesson involving moebius strips and geometric properties is reviewed. Specific activities are suggested. (MP)

Student exploration at a secondary school level of fraction relationships using special graphs is described. (MP)