Mathematics teachers continually look for ways to make the learning of mathematics more active and engaging. Hands-on activities, in particular, have been demonstrated to improve student engagement and understanding in mathematics classes. Likewise, many scholars have emphasized the growing importance of giving students experience with the…

The use of data is critical to the teaching of probability and statistics. At the very least, data should be provided within a meaningful context rather than presented as a generic, meaningless collection of numbers. Students often respond better, however, when working with data that they have gathered themselves. Having students collect data is a…

Data analysis plays a prominent role in various facets of modern life: Schools evaluate and revise programs on the basis of test scores; policymakers make decisions on the basis of information gleaned from polling data; supermarkets stock shelves on the basis of data collected at checkout lanes. Data analysis provides teachers with new tools and…

Proposes lotto games as a source of problems and exercises for classroom activities as well as applications of basic probability concepts in a practical setting which leads to a greater understanding of the remote chance anyone has of winning a lottery game. (KHR)

Discusses the use of the mathematics classroom for discovering the relationship among computers, mathematics, and real-world problems. Provides three probability problems and compares the results of three methods, actual trial, computer simulation, and mathematical solution. (YP)

Describes the Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP), a four-year program of problem-based mathematics that integrates algebra, geometry, and trigonometry with additional topics, such as probability and statistics, and uses calculator and computer technology to enhance student understanding. (MKR)