What better way to interest students in mathematics than using a Super Bowl® commercial? A Prudential® insurance commercial aired during the Super Bowl in 2013 was the impetus for this lesson (see it here on You-Tube™: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=IsNiKGMSHUQ). In the commercial, four hundred people were polled on "How Old Is the Oldest…

Although discussions about inductive reasoning can be traced back thousands of years (Fitelson 2011), the implementation of the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) within the Common Core State Standards (CCSSI 2010) is generating renewed attention to how students learn mathematics. The third SMP, "Construct viable arguments and critique…

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 math classroom is complex. Teachers navigate through a lesson using a variety of activities and tools that are designed to address students' needs and help them build conceptual understanding. Manipulatives, drawings, and other such concrete representations can help students explore mathematical ideas in physically grounded manifestations.…

The NCTM calls for the use of rich tasks that encourage students to apply their own reasoning to problem situations. When students work through algebraic generalization tasks, their reasoning often elicits a variety of strategies (Lannin 2003; Stacey 1989; Swafford and Langrall 2000). Challenges for teachers include facilitating student awareness…

Although this article is reprinted from a 1978 issue of "Arithmetic Teacher," its content is relevant to today's conversations about the roles of conceptual understanding and procedural fluency in the teaching of mathematics. This article attempts to advance and demonstrate the proposition that moves in teaching mathematics can serve as a basis…

Algebraic thinking in the middle grades involves constructing generalizations, moving beyond the focus of specific calculations in elementary school. This creates exciting opportunities to examine the validity of general arguments. Creating rich mathematical tasks and asking questions related to justification encourages students to examine what…

This article describes ways in which students develop schemas as they generalize and formalize patterns when solving related algebraic problems that involve size, shape, growth, and change. (Contains 7 figures and 3 tables.)