Students often find their first university linear algebra experience very challenging. While coping with procedural aspects of the subject, solving linear systems and manipulating matrices, they may struggle with crucial conceptual ideas underpinning them, making it very difficult to progress in more advanced courses. This research has sought to…

This article describes the work of outreach mathematicians introducing the topic of complex variables to eighth and ninth grade students (13- to 15-year-olds) in the US. Complex variables is an area of mathematics that is not typically studied at secondary level. The authors developed seven lessons designed to stimulate students' interest in…

A novel approach for teaching interpolation in the introductory course in numerical analysis is presented. The interpolation problem is viewed as a problem in linear algebra, whence the various forms of interpolating polynomial are seen as different choices of a basis to the subspace of polynomials of the corresponding degree. This approach…

In this article, we take a rapid journey through the history of algebra, noting the important developments and reflecting on the importance of this history in the teaching of algebra in secondary school or university. Frequently, algebra is considered to have three stages in its historical development: the rhetorical stage, the syncopated stage,…

The books in this series provide an essential ingredient in the transition from concrete mathematical experience to the symbolic reasoning used in algebra. They aim to guide the student in building and extending manipulative patterns, collecting numerical data, and analyzing the results. The main objective of the activities in this book is for the…

The life of Fibonacci is summarized, and his importance in the development of mathematics is assessed. Several problems first solved by Fibonacci are posed. (SD)

The teacher's guide for Unit 10 of this SMSG series covers the chapter on problem solving and the chapter on solution sets of mathematical sentences. The overall purpose for each of the chapters is described, the prerequisite knowledge needed by students is specified, the mathematical development of each chapter is detailed, behavioral objectives…

A possible method of derivation of prescriptions for solving problems, found in Babylonian cuneiform texts, is presented. It is a kind of "geometric algebra" based mainly on one figure and the manipulation of or within various areas and segments. (MNS)

Presents two equivalent forms of the Pythagorean theorem, and a form for finding the area of a right triangle. (RP)

Equation problems elicited a strategy in which the subject attempted to isolate the X variables on one side of the equation, whereas word problems elicited a strategy in which the subject attempted to reduce the expression. These results suggest that problem format influences the type of strategy used to solve algebra problems. (Author/PN)

Four unusual mathematics problems with interesting routes to solution are presented. A general method of solution to problems of this type is proposed. (MP)