Sharing Teaching Ideas: “Figuring” Out A Jigsaw Puzzle

1989 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 260a-263
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Jigsaw Puzzle ◽  
Teaching Ideas ◽  
Textbook Adoption

This past year was textbook-adoption time at our school, and one of the textbook representatives gave each of the mathematics teachers a small jigsaw puzzle having five brightly colored pieces (fig. 1[a)).

Sharing Teaching Ideas: Puzzles, Puzzles,…

1992 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 278-279
Author(s):  
Carol Isaacs ◽  
Julie Fisher
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Jigsaw Puzzle ◽  
Fairfax County ◽  
Minus Sign ◽  
Teaching Ideas

… and more puzzles. Laura is trying to fit tangram pieces into the outline on a worksheet. Sergei is maneuvering a marble through a wooden maze while Brad is manipulating a ball using two poles in a game called “shoot the integer,” in which students try to score the highest number possible. Jessica is working on a jigsaw puzzle that has a plus sign on one side and a minus sign on the other. A classroom visitor would think that Fairfax County spends all its money on puzzles! Actually, all these puzzles were made by our students.

Sharing Teaching Ideas: Mathematical Connection-a Baseball Opportunity

2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (7) ◽  
pp. 552-553
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Real World ◽  
Teaching Ideas ◽  
Mathematical Connection

Like most mathematics teachers, I am always seeking connections to real-world situations.

Sharing Teaching Ideas: Improving Students' Understanding of Geometric Definitions

1991 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 192-195
Author(s):  
Jim Hersberger ◽  
Gary Talsma ◽  
James P. Herrmann
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
Middle School Mathematics ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
Careful Attention ◽  
Class Time ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Teaching Ideas ◽  
The Way

As middle school mathematics teachers work to restructure a mathematics curriculum that now contains little in the way of new ideas or concepts (Flanders 1987), careful attention must be paid to pedagogical ideas that enhance and facilitate the attainment of newly developed curricular goals. In particular, even as a greater amount of class time is spent considering geometric topics, care must be taken to employ activities that help students attain higher levels of geometric understanding (Crowley 1987; Talsma and Hersberger 1990).

Sharing Teaching Ideas: A Formula for Factoring

1997 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 206-207
Author(s):  
Kay I. Meeks Roebuck
Keyword(s):  
Science Teachers ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Sufficient Time ◽  
Evaluation Standards ◽  
Quadratic Equations ◽  
Recent Meeting ◽  
Solving Equations ◽  
Mathematics And Science Teachers ◽  
Teaching Ideas ◽  
Mathematics And Science

At a recent meeting of mathematics and science teachers, three colleagues were discussing the algebra courses at their high schools. The major topic of conversation was the amount of time to be devoted to solving quadratic equations by factoring. The three were concerned that by devoting the large number of class days necessary for students to gain proficiency at factoring by inspection or grouping, they were left without sufficient time to work with the students on other important concepts. The teachers agreed that they were stuck in a no-win situation; they accepted and supported the idea expressed in the NCTM's Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (1989) that less time should be devoted to solving equations by factoring, yet other mathematics teachers within their schools would expect students to be proficient at factoring when they leave algebra.

Sharing Teaching Ideas: Not Just Another Theorem: A Cultural and Historical Event

2003 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 282-284
Author(s):  
Michael McDaniel
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Pythagorean Theorem ◽  
Historical Event ◽  
High School Mathematics ◽  
Integral Calculus ◽  
Quadratic Formula ◽  
History Of Thought ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
Teaching Ideas

The typical student rarely gets a chance to hold an old, powerful piece of history. In mathematics, teachers have the opportunity to present just such museum pieces; and furthermore, the class can verify their truth. Too often, however, students cringe in the face of proof and thus miss their chance to appreciate the treasure. Mathematics teachers can impress these future doctors, lawyers, politicians, and journalists with some jewels of mathematics; and teachers do mathematics a disservice if they skimp on the presentation. Since students and teachers have the time, the intelligence, and the materials to demonstrate the validity of a theorem, they should take advantage of this opportunity and privilege. Significant results in the history of thought that students can understand should be occasions for great drama. The high school mathematics sequence includes proofs of the quadratic formula, the Pythagorean theorem, the fundamental theorem of integral calculus, and other results. In this article, I suggest rolling out the red carpet for the proof of an important theorem. I focus on the Pythagorean theorem; the interested reader can easily adapt the treatment to any theorem that is worthy of unusual notice.

Sharing Teaching Ideas: Calculator Cryptography

2003 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 210-212
Author(s):  
Matthew Hall
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Real World ◽  
Mathematical Ideas ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Real World Applications ◽  
Teaching Ideas

Allowing students to participate in real-world applications of mathematics enables them to advance their own understanding of mathematical topics. Furthermore, most mathematics teachers would agree with NCTM's statement that “students' engagement with, and ownership of, abstract mathematical ideas can be fostered through technology” (NCTM 2000, p. 25). However, finding real applications becomes increasingly difficult as students progress into higher forms of mathematics like algebra. One topic that I have found particularly effective in demonstrating the importance of algebra and the use of technology is cryptography, or the encoding and decoding of messages.

Scientific progress is like doing a puzzle, not building a wall

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexa M. Tullett ◽  
Simine Vazire
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Progress ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Jigsaw Puzzle ◽  
Replication Research

AbstractWe contest the “building a wall” analogy of scientific progress. We argue that this analogy unfairly privileges original research (which is perceived as laying bricks and, therefore, constructive) over replication research (which is perceived as testing and removing bricks and, therefore, destructive). We propose an alternative analogy for scientific progress: solving a jigsaw puzzle.

The role of publishing representatives in textbook adoption

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Batten ◽  
Lalania Woodstrom ◽  
Aja Taitano ◽  
Bradley Smith ◽  
Cade Hulbert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Textbook Adoption
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