Discusses the theoretical framework of realistic mathematics education. A course on fractions is analyzed in depth with the realistic theory in the background. Examines the strategies that designers of exemplary educational material use. (MDH)

Presents examples of algebra from the field of accounting including proportional ownership of stock, separation of a loan payment into principal and interest portions, depreciation methods, and salary withholdings computations. (MKR)

Describes a teacher's experiences in a classroom where mathematics problems are presented in the context of aliens and other galaxies. (ASK)

Describes tried and tested methods for introducing vectors and addressing the topics of centripetal acceleration and vector and scalar products to secondary physics students. (Author/WRM)

Argues that the only reason to ask students to plot graphs manually should be to have them learn the skill of plotting graphs manually. For data-analysis purposes, the use of computer-generated graphs has several advantages and few disadvantages over manual plotting. (Author/WRM)

Reviews the historic relationship between logic and the mathematics curriculum. Proposes a list of logical elements for modern school mathematics. Checks the current national curriculum against this list and finds it to be deficient, especially in relation to the development of ideas of proof. Presents arguments for reform. (Contains 29…

Describes how to use the computer algebra system (CAS) Mathematica to analyze projectile motion with and without air resistance. These experiments result in several conjectures leading to theorems. (Contains 17 references.) (Author/ASK)

Presents a portfolio of examples that illustrate how TI-92 technology has been used to support an undergraduate engineering mathematics course by changing it from student-passive to student-active. The instant feedback and variety of possible representations enables a concepts- and applications-driven interactive teaching approach which has led to…

States that problem-solving skills receive inadequate attention in many mathematics classrooms, and that preservice teacher-education programs can address the lack of instruction in problem solving. Provides rationale for teaching problem solving in the middle grades as an alternative to textbook exercises and worksheets and as a means of…

Presents activities that combine astronomy problems with algebra, geometry, trigonometry, data analysis, and physics. Provides experiences for students in making distance measurements themselves by using the method of parallax. (ASK)

A study involving 91 children (ages 3-5) divided into more able and less able sub-groups found mathematical word problems containing inconsistent information were more difficult than those with consistent information. Word problems containing inadequate and redundant information were more difficult to explain than those items with just enough…

Students at all levels benefit from a multi-faceted approach to learning abstract material. The most commonly used technique in teaching the pure theory of international trade is a combination of geometry and algebraic derivations. Numerical simulation can provide a valuable third support to these approaches. The author describes a simple…

The sequential organization of actions necessary to construct a figure in a dynamic geometry environment (DGE) introduces an explicit order of construction. Such sequential organization produces what is, in effect, a hierarchy of dependences, as elements of the construction depend on something created earlier. This hierarchy of dependences is one…

The problem of solving mathematical equations can be quite tough for some students hence they face a great difficulty when applying ideas to the actual process. Students in algebra classes are taught coding in which they write down what they will need to do to solve the equation and this coding makes the students more adept at solving equations…

This study documents the mathematics practiced by four women in the context of sewing. The study describes the mathematics recognized in the skills, thinking and strategies used by the seamstresses. Through their work, the seamstresses exhibited an understanding of the concepts of angles, direction, parallel, reflection, symmetry, proportion,…