One of the most interesting developments in teaching has been the growing importance of the outdoor environment. Whether it be playground, garden or field, the outdoors offers a range of challenging experiences, especially in the delivery of early mathematics. Oral feedback to parents, together with photographic displays, can show them that…

Characteristic polynomials are used to determine when magic squares have magic inverses. A resulting method constructs arbitrary examples of such squares.

Summer Training and Education Program (STEP) is a summer employment, academic remediation, and life skills program intended to lower school dropout rates by reducing summer learning loss and preventing teen parenthood. The program is integrated into the federal summer jobs program and is offered during six-to-eight-week sessions in two consecutive…

Calibration is a technique that is commonly used in science and engineering research that requires calibrating measurement tools for obtaining more accurate measurements. It is an important technique in various industries. In many situations, calibration is an application of linear regression, and is a good topic to be included when explaining and…

The effects of using homework guides, and homework logs on students' abilities to solve word problems involving basic addition and subtraction facts were studied. Students received one of three versions of addition and subtraction timed tests once per week--every Thursday--that focused on measuring automaticity of basic addition and subtraction…

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which a preschool program followed the recommendations outlined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in their joint position statement "Early Childhood Mathematics: Promoting Good…

This article describes the instructional process of helping students visualize irrational numbers. Students learn to create a spiral, called "the wheel of Theodorus," which demonstrates irrational and rational lengths. Examples of student work help the reader appreciate the delightful possibilities of this project. (Contains 4 figures.)

This article describes the process of design and implementation of a hands-on unit on fractions in the sixth grade. The fraction unit, taught by a classroom teacher with the aid of a university professor, uses pattern blocks to help students develop conceptual understanding of fractions. Student misunderstandings and outcomes are presented, as…

This book derives from a series of sessions in which a study group of elementary teachers and their principals discussed children's mathematical work in relation to alternative assessment. The purposes of this book to describe the next tier of work for teachers in alternative assessment and how that work can be applied to elementary mathematics:…

This document presents a resource for elementary teachers in the form of a collection of facts and measurements of animals and planets to be used in generating student interest for these different topics. It is suggested that the teacher make an overhead transparency of the measurements related to the current topic, then have students guess at…

Polya claims that true problem solving is accompanied by the cognitive activities of mobilization, organization, isolation and combination, and by the evaluations of relevancy, proximity, and quality. Evaluations occur as a result of monitoring cognitive activities. According to Polya, these particular cognitive activities are a necessary part of…

This book contains a set of versatile enrichment exercises that cover a very broad range of mathematical topics and applications in geometry including Euclidean, post-Euclidean, and non-Euclidean geometry. Several criteria have been used in developing the activities and selecting the topics that are included. All of them bear heavily and equally…

Describes an activity on data management and statistics in which students were asked to think of a topic and collect information on it to analyze and represent in graphs. (ASK)

Discusses simple tools for digitizing objects of interest from image files for treatment in other software such as graph plotters, data-handling software, or graphic calculators. Explores methods using MS Paint, Excel, DigitiseImage and TI Interactive (TII). (Author/NB)

Presents exemplary material from the publication "From Little Acorn Grow--Spreadsheets 9 to 13," a photocopiable resource book that contains spreadsheet ideas. Highlights the process of preparing the publication. (JRH)