In this article, a mathematics teacher educator presents an activity designed to pique the interest of prospective secondary mathematics teachers who may doubt the value of learning abstract algebra for their chosen profession. Herein, he contemplates: what "is" intended by the widespread requirement that high school mathematics teachers…

Research shows that students often struggle with understanding empirical sampling distributions. Using hands-on and technology models and simulations of problems generated by real data help students begin to make connections between repeated sampling, sample size, distribution, variation, and center. A task to assist teachers in implementing…

Benjamin Banneker, a self-taught African American mathematician, kept a journal containing a number of mathematical puzzles. Explores four of these puzzles, 200 years later, with the aid of 21st century technology. (Author/NB)

Describes a combinatorics problem involving pizza toppings. Includes three activity sheets. (Author/NB)

Describes a calculus review game based on the popular game show "Wheel of Fortune." (Author/NB)

Features an investigation in which students study the time of each bounce of a ball and the total time that the ball would bounce. (ASK)

Focuses on solutions to a single problem using both induction and deduction by utilizing a TI-82 graphing calculator to illustrate symbolic, numerical, and graphical approaches to the problem. (ASK)

Presents an activity using quilts for many mathematical investigations. Benefits arising from the use of quilts include being useful, visually appealing, steeped in history, and an integral part of many cultures. (ASK)

Presents problem situations that support students when discovering the multiplication principle, permutations, combinations, Pascal's triangle, and relationships among those objects in a concrete context. (ASK)

Presents activities for teaching the logistic growth model using calculators and spreadsheets. (ASK)

Introduces the concept of function using graphs or pictorial representations of functions. Presents four activities for grade levels 8-14 that use the natural progression from qualitative graphs to quantitative graphs to tables to equations for introducing the theme of distance from an object as a function of time. (Author/NB)

What initially appears to be a standard maximum-minimum problem presents, with a particular independent variable, a wealth of calculus and algebraic subplots. Uses graphing calculator technology to reinforce the "pencil and paper" solution and open the problem to lower level mathematics courses. (Author/NB)

Provides activities that support students as they develop their intuitive notions of graphs. Activities help students describe the relationships expressed in the graphs and make generalizations about inferences on the basis of the visual image. (ASK)

Demonstrates a way to develop the concept of the logarithmic function that builds on students' knowledge of the definition of a function and its inverse. (ASK)

Describes an activity involving six investigations. Introduces students to fractals, allows them to study the properties of some famous fractals, and encourages them to create their own fractal artwork. Contains 14 references. (ASK)