The name of Zoltan P. Dienes (1916- ) stands with those of Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, Edward Begle, and Robert Davis as a legendary figure whose work left a lasting impression on the field of mathematics education. Dienes' name is synonymous with the multibase blocks that he invented for the teaching of place value. Among numerous other things,…

In this paper, we introduce an electronic collaborative learning environment based on Interactive Instructors of Recreational Mathematics (IIRM), establishing an alternative approach for motivating students towards mathematics. The IIRM are educational software components, specializing in mathematical concepts, presented through recreational…

This paper is a summary of the use of the Technology Engineering in K-12 education that integrates science and technology to positively impact students and teachers. The Technology Enhanced Learning in Science Center (or "TELS") is a research consortium that uses dynamic and innovative technology-based solutions combined with science…

This paper details the motivation, background, and analysis for studying the effect that an Increasing Achievement on Algebra Assessment (IAAA) workshop for a group of Florida high school teachers had on student performance in state-wide testing. The main focus of the workshop was to provide participating teachers with both instruction and…

For many years, education researchers excited by the potential for digital technologies to transform mathematics teaching and learning have predicted that these technologies would become rapidly integrated into every level of education. However, recent international research shows that technology still plays a marginal role in mathematics…

This article describes an engaging, data-gathering activity that allows students to explore relationships between latitude and average monthly temperatures of cities in the Western Hemisphere. This data-gathering activity covered interesting and important mathematical ground and engaged students from the start. While students searched for their…

This book contains transparency masters, duplication masters, and activities for teaching tessellating art. Part 1 gives instructions and information for creating transparencies from the paper masters in this book. Part 2 provides the transparency masters along with detailed instructions about when and how to use each of the transparencies.…

Mathematics can be used to analyze musical rhythms, to study the sound waves that produce musical notes, to explain why instruments are tuned, and to compose music. This book explores the relationship between mathematics and music through proportions, patterns, Fibonacci numbers or the Golden Ratio, geometric transformations, trigonometric…

The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of two different elementary mathematics programs on student learning. The subjects, third-grade students in two schools, were matched by socio-economic background and teacher experience. Students in each school were exposed to a different mathematics program since kindergarten--a skills…

The cognitive difficulties encountered by 40 high school and 13 college students beginning to learn the proof technique of mathematical induction were investigated. Students provided data in the form of proof-writing and proof-analysis tasks followed by interviews to clarify their written responses. Both groups of students had significant…

This book is designed to present mathematical problems and tasks that focus on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) curriculum and evaluation standards in the context of aerospace activities. It aims at actively engaging students in NCTM's four process standards: (1) problem solving; (2) mathematical reasoning; (3) communicating…

The existence of probability misconceptions at all levels has been well documented. Furthermore, these misconceptions have been shown to be widespread and highly resistant to change. Previous research has shown considerable success in overcoming misconceptions in the short term by basing the knowledge reconstruction process on problems which draw…

This book uses foods as catalysts for learning mathematical concepts. Each hands-on activity in this math center suggests accessible, healthful, and easy-to-prepare foods to be used in school or at home. An introduction to parents and teachers includes supplies list, gobble-up germs poster, and food guide pyramid and serving information. The…

A pivotal theorem which is of critical importance to statistical inference in probability and statistics is the Central Limit Theorem (CLT). The theorem concerns the sampling distribution of random samples taken from a population, including population distributions that do not have to be normal distributions. This paper contains a brief history of…

Games and puzzles in which a checkerboard can be used to develop mathematical concepts are described. (SD)