Describes four easy-to-construct board games and puzzles that teachers can use to strengthen their students' mathematical problem-solving skills in both the classroom and the real world. (MDM)

States that one common goal of improving mathematics education is applicable for all. Bridges of understanding must be built by having students solve mathematical problems that go beyond performing simple arithmetic and simplifying algebraic equations. Students must take an active role in the learning process, and assessment should be used to…

Presents responses to a problem appearing in the December, 1998 issue on the concept of determining all possibilities for colored and numbered wristbands for students. (ASK)

In this article, the author talks about his experiences when he started a mathematics degree with the Open University. He shares what happened during a course on mathematical models and methods and his major influences in mathematics. He also offers his current pedagogy that is based purely on his experiences and time spent talking to other…

This note gives geometrical/graphical methods of finding solutions of the quadratic equation ax[squared] + bx + c = 0, a [not equal to] 0, with non-real roots. Three different cases which give rise to non-real roots of the quadratic equation have been discussed. In case I a geometrical construction and its proof for finding the solutions of the…

In this classroom note, the authors present a method to solve variable coefficients ordinary differential equations of the form p(x)y([squared])(x) + q(x)y([superscript 1])(x) + r(x)y(x) = 0. They propose an iterative method as an alternate method to solve the above equation. This iterative method is accessible to an undergraduate student studying…

The Career Mathematics file is an occupational problem-solving system, which includes a wide range of mathematical problems and solutions, collected from various resources and helps students establish connections between mathematics and their environment. The study shows that the problems given can be used as realistic examples to study and…

The author describes 10 classroom activities that are designed to promote reading comprehension and organizational skills in the context of solving math problems. These lessons help students to clarify the information within math problems, identify what operations are necessary, and express their solutions more accurately and precisely. A…

In this narrative of teacher educator action research, the idea for and the context of the lesson emerged as a result of conversations between Shelly, a mathematics teacher educator, and Lisa, a quilter, about real-life mathematical problems related to Lisa's work as she created the templates for a reproduction quilt. The lesson was used with…

Implementation of a problem-based mathematics curriculum, the "Interactive Mathematics Program" (IMP), at three high schools in California has been associated with more than just differences in student achievement. The outcomes that distinguished students who participated in the IMP program from students who followed a conventional…

Research indicates that there is a reciprocal relationship between challenging behavior and poor academic performance and that this relationship will have a lifelong negative impact on individuals caught in this detrimental cycle. New interventions continue to be reported in the literature describing more effective ways to implement academic…

This article examines a classroom discussion of multiple interpretations of the scales on two distance versus time graphs. The analysis describes how two students and a teacher used multiple meanings for phrases of the form "I went by" and coordinated these meanings with different views of the scales. Students' ambiguous and shifting meanings did…

I argue in this article that identity as a mathematical thinker develops through self-directed learning within a supportive community of practice. The dynamic nature of identity as a mathematical thinker is illustrated by considering the experiences of primary pre-service teachers who undertook a mathematics and technology subject in their…

This document contains the course syllabus and 12 independent practice modules for a college level mathematics course designed to provide the necessary foundation for success in calculus, develop logical thinking skills, and enhance analytic skills through problem solving. Topics include relations and functions; inequalities; complex numbers;…

A change of emphasis in mathematics education may be needed from a mechanical and computational focus to a problem-solving approach. A first step in facilitating this goal is to place children in situations emphasizing problem-solving skills, requiring them to develop and apply their own logic structures. This paper describes a microcomputer based…