Simple connections between prime numbers, methods for obtaining prime numbers, characteristics of prime numbers, and the relationship of primes to high order numbers are discussed. (CW)

An education course for prospective teachers was designed to include a field experience that challenged students' underlying beliefs about teaching and learning. This article describes and discusses prospective teachers' reactions to encounters with an unconventional third grade teacher's approach to teaching negative numbers. (IAH)

Discussed are several common aspects of teaching functions and statistics including graphing relations, exploring relations, transforming relations, and modeling situations. Examples of each are provided. (CW)

This article explains how this method is done, examines some reasons for including it as a topic in mathematics curricula, and uses modular arithmetic to explore its mathematical basis and its generalizability to computations in bases other than 10. (CW)

Describes and analyzes a study of the influence of computers on pupils ages 12-14 in Spain. Four fields of action are defined: (1) research; (2) teacher training; (3) student and teacher activities; and (4) the development of teaching materials. An example of the curricular development of units for mathematics is included. (Contains 21…

Presents six construction problems in which key parts of the figure are made inaccessible, that is, a lake or an obstruction is inserted. Encourages creative thinking while improving problem-solving skills. Students are to show the construction, describe the solution, and verify correctness of the solution. (LDR)

Presents a drill-and-review process in which students take daily quizzes and then correct each other's work on a daily basis. Provides a daily quiz sheet and an example implementing the process for the concept of fractions. (MDH)

Recent research supports Vygotsky's "zone of proximal development" theory; children receiving peer assistance can stretch their learning beyond their individual accomplishment. A study of a multiage classroom revealed three strategies used by children working together to solve math problems--modeling, tutoring, and pairing/sharing…

Presents 24 activities related to the theme of area to illustrate how algebra can empower students, not impede their progress. Activities use grid tools, manipulatives, computational tools, and paper-and-pencil tools to facilitate access, discourse, independence, and multiple representations. Well-chosen themes offer connections, motivation,…

Argues that intuitive and computational knowledge can be combined by focusing more explicitly on referential and quantitative meanings in division of fractions problems. Recommends teaching mathematics as problem solving, communication, reasoning, and connections to help students overcome misunderstandings and connect their intuitive knowledge…

Discusses the study of identification codes and check-digit schemes as a way to show students a practical application of mathematics and introduce them to coding theory. Examples include postal service money orders, parcel tracking numbers, ISBN codes, bank identification numbers, and UPC codes. (MKR)

Discusses an activity using lined paper and rulers to discover and prove the triangle proportionality theorem. (MKR)

A high school teacher describes the learning activities his students initiated to make math more meaningful. Students determined the height of objects without direct measurement, graphed statistical information from the presidential primaries, studied the evolution of architecture by building gingerbread models, and researched land-use problems at…

Presents an activity suitable for rainy days in which students solve a story problem to determine how fast a person should run in the rain to get the least wet. (MDH)

Recounts teaching mathematics to junior high school students in France in the context of seventeenth-century mathematics history. Examines extracts of original works by Leibniz on the origin of calculus and of Huygens on continued fractions. Investigates historical puzzles and a variety of mathematical problems arising out of the texts. (MDH)