Linear pattern is the primary material in learning number patterns in junior high schools, but there are still many students who fail to generalize the linear pattern. The students' failure in generalizing the pattern occurred when the students ended to view the problems globally without breaking them into the constructors' components such as the…

Importance: The article raises a point of visual representation of big data, recently considered to be demanded for many scientific and real-life applications, and analyzes particulars for visualization of multi-dimensional data, giving examples of the visual analytics-related problems. Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to study application…

The purpose of this study is to determine the progression of exemplifying and example generalization by students. We investigated whether example generalization occurs by analyzing collected data by identifying whether students recognize, describe, and define general features of geometric examples. We also investigate how example generalization…

The very nature of algebra concerns the generalization of patterns (Lee 1996). Patterning activities that are geometric in nature can serve as powerful contexts that engage students in algebraic thinking and visually support them in constructing a variety of generalizations and justifications (e.g., Healy and Hoyles 1999; Lannin 2005). In this…

How many rods does it take to brace a square in the plane? Once Martin Gardner's network of readers got their hands on it, it turned out to be fewer than Raphael Robinson, who originally posed the problem, thought. And who could have predicted the stunning solutions found subsequently for various generalizations of the problem?

As an alternative to looking solely at linear functions, a three-lesson learning progression developed for Year 6 students that incorporates triangular numbers to develop children's algebraic thinking is described and evaluated.

Students often view mathematics as a set of unrelated facts and procedures and fail to make the connections between and among related topics. One role of a teacher is to help students understand that mathematics is an interrelated discipline. Another role is to assist students in the scaffolding of their knowledge so that they can make connections…

A. Lobb discovered an interesting generalization of Catalan's parenthesization problem, namely: Find the number L(n, m) of arrangements of n + m positive ones and n - m negative ones such that every partial sum is nonnegative, where 0 = m = n. This article uses Lobb's formula, L(n, m) = (2m + 1)/(n + m + 1) C(2n, n + m), where C is the usual…

What is the role of patterns in developing algebraic reasoning? This important question deserves thoughtful attention. In response, this article examines some differing views of algebraic reasoning, discusses a controversy regarding patterns, and describes how three types of patterns--in contextual problems, in growing geometric figures, and in…

The concept of symmetry is fundamental to mathematics. Arguments and proofs based on symmetry are often aesthetically pleasing because they are subtle and succinct and non-standard. This article uses notions of symmetry to approach the solutions to a broad range of mathematical problems. It responds to Krutetskii's criteria for mathematical…

Given three points in the plane, interest is in the locus of all points for which the sum of the distances to the given points is a prescribed constant. These curves turn out to be sixth degree polynominals in x and y , and thus are complicated. However, it turns out that often there is a point, within the triangle formed by the three given…

A heuristic description is given of the rediscovery with "Sketchpad" of a less-well-known, but beautiful, generalization of the nine-point circle to a nine-point conic, as well as an associated generalization of the Euler line. The author's initial analytic geometry proofs, which made use of the symbolic algebra facility of the TI-92 calculator,…

Imagine a wooden cube painted and cut into "unit cubes." A typical activity consists of predicting the number of unit cubes with exactly three faces painted, two faces painted, etc. This article presents extensions of this activity designed to help students develop analyzing abilities and powers to generalize. (JP)

The problem of finding the area of a regular polygon is presented as a good example of a mathematical discovery that leads to a significant generalization. The problem of finding the number of sides which will maximize the area under certain conditions leads to several interesting results. (LS)

Numerous mathematical examples are presented which illustrate and raise questions about students' tendencies to overgeneralize. (BB)