A study examining performance differences on the Ohio Colleges Early Math Placement Test of students receiving algebra and geometry instruction in a traditional, year-long structure versus students in an intensified block structure found the traditional structure more effective. Using block scheduling for all courses and students is unwise. Some…

Presents algebra course curriculum that utilizes a symbolic algebra system called PAD (Power, Application, and Depth). Demonstrates an example using PAD and points out that mathematics courses using this software present new ways for students to launch the power of algebraic thinking. (ASK)

Testing of junior and senior business students on algebra, calculus, and statistics problems revealed they retained little of what was covered in basic quantitative courses. Emphasis on student evaluation of teachers may create incentives for instructors to avoid challenging students in these courses. (SK)

Presents several examples of investigations which demonstrate the following: (1) algebra is connected to other mathematical topics; (2) algebra is an effective tool for representing patterns and relationships; and (3) algebra is an effective tool for analyzing patterns. (DDR)

Argues that technology influences mathematics education by enabling students and teachers to discover and demonstrate generalizations and properties that were unthinkable a few years ago. Focuses on one example related to a paradox involving parabolas. (DDR)

Considers the random sum SN+X1+X2+...+XN with a stopping rule N=min((n: SN absorbing Markov chain. (AIM)

Lists some ways that sequences were incorporated into mathematics lessons and explains a teacher's observations about the caliber of thinking and questioning that students develop as they learn appropriate ways to use numbers. Provides a number of questions that have been raised by students and the thinking prompted by a discussion of those…

Presents an insightful approach to algebra that enhances both personal and classroom communication through the process of solving a linear equation. (KHR)

Describes a teaching method to explain excess burden, a key concept in the public economics field. Demonstrates that changing any relevant variable has the same effect on excess burden when viewed as an area of a triangle under a demand curve or as the value of a mathematical formula. (JEH)

Introduces human graphing by having students standing on certain coordinates instead of points plotted in ink. Includes teacher tips for success and possible graphing explorations. (KHR)

Discusses the relevance of teaching algebra to all students. Issues examined include the desperate need for reform in the algebra curriculum, developing a curriculum for a broad range of people, and rethinking how mathematics courses are structured and taught. Concludes that teaching algebra to students previously unsuccessful in mathematics will…

Illustrates the qualitative nature of the differences between reform courses and traditional courses based on the types of student questions and comments generated in reform classes ranging from college algebra to multivariable calculus. (AIM)

Illustrates ways of using algebra tiles to give students a visual model of competing squares that appear in algebra as well as in higher mathematics. Such visual representations give substance to the symbolic manipulation and give students who do not learn symbolically a way of understanding the underlying concepts of completing the square. (KHR)

Reports on a study designed to build instructional software to improve estimation, reasoning, and problem solving skills using an animation-based tutor for algebra word problems. Concludes that estimation and the solution of simpler problems (i.e., decomposition) are effective strategies. (Author/MM)

Using Longitudinal Study of American Youth data, researchers investigated factors related to middle and high school students' learning or growth in statistics, algebra, and geometry. Results indicated substantial growth in all three content areas in both middle and high school. Factors related to student learning included student characteristics…