This study analyzes the mathematical knowledge of 40 preservice Chilean Early Childhood and Primary Education teachers when designing mathematical tasks on patterns, in the context of teaching early algebra. Based on the domains of the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) model, we have adopted a descriptive qualitative methodological…

The authors present mathematics problems related to the packaging of sporting goods which they used to motivate and engage their students in the USA. This article reports on a series of questions/problems that were explored in groups by the students in a college class designed for sophomores, as part of a program to prepare them to be teachers at…

Basic brain function is not a mystery. Given that neuroscientists understand its basic functioning processes, one wonders what their research suggests to teachers of developmental algebra. What if we knew how to teach so as to improve understanding of the algebra taught to developmental algebra students? What if we knew how the brain processes…

Pattern generalisation has become an important feature of mathematics classrooms around the globe. Sometimes these activities focus purely on given numerical terms, but the use of pictorial or figural patterns is now becoming part of the standard repertoire for such generalisation exercises. From a pedagogic point of view, the investigation of…

Basic brain function is not a mystery. Given that neuroscientists understand the brain's basic functioning processes, one wonders what their research suggests to teachers of developmental algebra. What if we knew how to teach so as to improve understanding of the algebra taught to developmental algebra students? What if we knew how the brain…

The card game SET has attracted the attention of math and game enthusiasts alike. In this article, I present a first semester Abstract Algebra project that guides the students through an algebraic formulation of the game. There are many interesting mathematical questions that one can ask about the game, and I illustrate how the project can be used…