This report offers California college faculty a closer look at contextualized teaching and learning (CTL) as a promising set of strategies and practices that can be expanded through the state's Basic Skills Initiative. The report is relevant to a range of instructional and counseling faculty, including academic and career and technical education…

This study examined the features of the classroom discourse in eight Algebra I classes from two urban high schools with diverse student populations. In particular, by using the discursive analysis perspective, the type of communication between teachers and students was examined. The study investigated to what extent teachers' patterns of discourse…

This booklet contains mathematics unit plans for Algebra 1, Geometry, Math for Technology, Mathematical Problem Solving, and Pre-Algebra developed by PACE (Promoting Academic Excellence In Mathematics, Science & Technology for Workers of the 21st Century). Each unit plan contains suggested timing, objectives, skills to be acquired, workplace…

D. B. Bailey and S. A. Palsha (1992) proposed two modified versions of the Stages of Concern Questionnaire for measuring teacher concerns during a reform effort. Their analysis suggested the use of a 5-factor model with 35 items or 15 items rather than the original 7-stage, 35-item Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM). The present study was…

This course of study guide is designed to help teachers establish a continuity within the scope and sequence of their elementary school mathematics curriculum and to assist those teachers in formulating some realistic goals for themselves and their students. Part I contains an introduction and statement of philosophy. Part II contains course…

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…

Multi-line-multi-operation calculators such as the TI-80 provide eighth-grade prealgebra and algebra students with significantly better computational tools for basic order-of-operation problems involving integers and signed rational numbers than do calculators offering only last-entry-or-result displays. Effects are more apparent for weaker…

Algebra word problems were analyzed in terms of the information integration tasks that are required to solve the problems. These tasks were classified into three levels: value assignment, value derivation, and equation construction. Novices (35 first year algebra students) and experts (13 analytic geometry students) were compared on the proportion…

Literature in mathematic problem-solving suggests that learners store information in memory which helps them solve stereotyped algebra word problems. Cluster analysis has been used as an exploratory tool to infer the types of problems which have common representations in memory. This study compares the results of a hierarchical cluster analysis of…

Some properties of perfect numbers are illustrated. (SD)

An algebraic development of the Fibonnaci sequence, appropriate for use in beginning algebra classes, is presented. (SD)

The history of alligation problems as a part of the mathematics curriculum is briefly reviewed, and the non-unique nature of the solutions to many problems is discussed. (SD)

This article presents a simple procedure to generate a sequence of rational numbers converging on the square root of 2, yielding common fraction approximations that motivate and illuminate the definition of real numbers based on rationals. Examples suggest that any irrational number can be approximated as closely as desired. A bibliography is…

Intuition in mathematics is essential but it must be based on good knowledge of mathematics. An example related to velocity, time, and area is presented and discussed, with models, visual approaches, and geometric arguments noted. (Author/KM)

The author describes a series of current economic ideas and situations which can be used in the mathematics classroom to illustrate the use of signed numbers, the coordinate system, univariate and multivariate functions, linear programing, and variation. (SD)