When it comes to using software to enhance the learning and teaching of mathematics it is all too easy to "talk the talk", but "walking the walk" is something else. There are many pertinent problems associated with accessibility, robust systems, curriculum time, classroom management, software familiarity and intuitive usage to name but a few.…

Islamic patterns were a regular feature in mathematics classrooms, and probably still feature in many wall displays. However, as part of the learning process, these ancient designs appear to have lost any significant contemporary appeal. Here, the power of software is engaged to bring the construction of Islamic type patterns up to date. Forget…

Many delegates at "conference" relish the opportunity, and the space, to "do some mathematics". Opportunity and space help to make the experience memorable, but how often is the quality of the starting point, or question acknowledged? Here is a set of starting points or problems that invite the reader to "do some mathematics". Deliberately, no…

In short, this is a "master class". The learning and teaching of mathematics can be revolutionised with the creative use of dynamic software is an oft quoted mantra. Here, this mantra is exemplified through the documented experiences of using Autograph to enliven, to extend, and to foster the understanding of differentiation and integration. The…

Geometer Sketchpad is far from a new innovation, but its potential in the classroom is probably still understated. The application described here can be replicated in any classroom, and the impact on learning is likely to be significant. The experiences documented are "real", and show how a software package can enhance an area of the mathematics…

Has technology revolutionised the mathematics classroom, or is it still a device waiting to be exploited for the benefit of the learner? There are applets that will enable the user to solve complex equations at the push of a button. So, does this jeopardise other methods, make other methods redundant, or even diminish other methods in the mind of…

In the September 2010 issue of "Mathematics Teaching," Tom O'Brien offered practical advice about how to teach addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division and contrasted his point of view with that of H.H. Wu. In this article, the author revisits Tom's examples, drawing on his methodology while, hopefully, simplifying it and giving it…

In order to find its circumference, Archimedes famously boxed the circle between two polygons. Ending the first of a series of articles (MT179) with an aside, Francis Lopez-Real reverses the situation to ask: Which polygons can be boxed between two circles? (The official term for such polygons is "bicentric".) The sides of these polygons are…

One sign of a good task is that it will work just as well with Year 7 as with Year 13. The author asks learners to use graph-drawing software to draw a picture with graphs. He uses his imagination to suggest what a particular curve might resemble and helps learners to adjust their drawings to achieve what they are trying to make. Sometimes, one…

For more than one hundred years teachers have paddled beside the great ocean of mathematical adventure. Between them they have taught millions of young people. A few have dived in and kept swimming, some have lingered on the shore playing in pools, but most have dipped their toes in and run like heck in the other direction never to return. There…

Nowadays, many technological means are available to support teaching, such as the interactive whiteboard, class sets of laptop or netbook computers, and high speed internet access. For mathematics education there are advanced software packages for geometry, algebra, calculus, and statistics, which in many cases are available on line at no cost.…

It is a pity that for so many people not involved in Teaching, and for a surprising number who are, mathematics in schools is "chiefly" all about the ability to know a set of facts, multiplication tables and addition bonds in particular, rather than the capacity to reason and explore patterns and relationships in Number and Shape.…

The ability of interlocking polygonal tiles, like those in the "Polydron Frameworks kit," to flex can give rise to polyhedra whose faces don't quite fit. In this article, the author discusses what happens with polyhedra whose faces don't quite fit. (Contains 2 notes.)

Display took a wide variety of forms ranging from students presenting their initial planning and thought processes, to displays of their finished work, and their suggestions for extending the task should they, or others, have time to return to it in the future. A variety of different media were used from traditional posters in many shapes and…

In this article, the author describes an activity she has used with two different groups: (1) high attaining year 8 children; and (2) Secondary Mathematics PGCE students. In the activity they created what was, ostensibly, the same geometrical objects using paper folding, pencil, ruler and compasses, and the "Geometer's Sketchpad"--an example of…