Explains how to improve visual displays employed in school finance by examining a theoretical framework and applying it to the displays. Discusses and illustrates important display principles based on William Cleveland's ideas about decoding/encoding, length judgments, distance, detection, and superimposed curves; and Edward Tufte's work on data…

Discusses a strategy for teaching students about how the Social Security Trust Fund works. Explains that a flow chart is presented to the students; four terms are defined (deficit, surplus, debt, and reserve); and a new graph is prepared to show the paths of these four variables. (CMK)

Presents a discovery activity that connects mathematics and the world of entertainment. Combines geometric transformations with a calculator's DRAW, MATRIX, and PRGM features to generate visual reinforcement of mathematical concepts. (Author/NB)

Discusses a method of cubic splines to determine a curve through a series of points and a second method for obtaining parametric equations for a smooth curve that passes through a sequence of points. Procedures for determining the curves and results of each of the methods are compared. (YP)

Two studies involving a total of 185 college freshmen illustrate the ways in which family maps--defined through role playing and multidimensional scaling analysis--offer a diagnostic means of understanding current and hypothetical familial interactions, including how children perceive their places in the family. (SLD)

Points out reasons for using graphical methods to teach simple and multiple regression analysis. Argues that a graphically oriented approach has considerable pedagogic advantages in the exposition of simple and multiple regression. Shows that graphical methods may play a central role in the process of building regression models. (Author/LS)

Describes a five-number summary which is a display of the minimum value, lower quartile, median, upper quartile, and maximum value. Indicates how to draw box plots as graphical representations of a five-number summary. (YP)

Presents examples illustrating how to teach statistics in connection with mathematical concepts. Describes using percentage problems and graphing problems in the classroom. (YP)

Provides an activity as an example of how matrices can be introduced from finite graphs and how finite graphs can be analyzed by examining their matrix representations. Presents the materials, objectives, prerequisites, directions, extension activities, answers, and worksheets. (YP)

Considers the reflections of the graphs of a function through an arbitrary line. Determines whether the result is a function and which functions are reflected on to themselves through a given line. (YP)

Describes the nature of a saturation curve and discusses several examples including the number of American scientists, population, Dow industrial index, and the national debt. (YP)

Investigates the extent to which visual considerations in calculus can be taught and be a natural part of college students' mathematical thinking. Recommends that the legitimacy of the visual approach in proofs and problem solving should be emphasized and that the visual interpretations of algebraic notions should be taught. (YP)

Describes the design and operation of four software packages, or macros, written in the programing language of Microsoft's EXCEL for use on the Macintosh computer for data manipulation and presentation used in educational research. Reordering tabulated data, reversing the scoring of tabulated data, and creating tables and graphs are explained.…

Demonstrates the application of multiple regression and double exponential elimination to patronage and circulation data collected at the School of Education at the University of Mississippi to examine the performance of its branch library. (six references) (MES)

Given is a proof on the classification of surfaces that involves some simple graph theory. It could serve as an introduction to some methods of modern differential topology. (MNS)