Socrates and the Three Little Pigs: Connecting Patterns, Counting Trees, and Probability

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-161
Author(s):  
Denisse R. Thompson ◽  
Richard A. Austin
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
New Jersey ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
School Students ◽  
Middle School Curriculum ◽  
Curriculum Frameworks ◽  
Counting Trees

Explorations of concepts of chance should be a part of the middle school curriculum, as indicated in the mathematics curriculum frameworks developed by several states (Florida 1996; South Carolina 1993; New Jersey 1996). The challenge for teachers is to find contexts that interest middle school students and motivate them to explore these ideas.

Call for Manuscripts for the 1999 Focus Issue: Data and Chance in the Middle School Curriculum

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 45
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Mathematics Teaching ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
School Students ◽  
Middle School Curriculum

The march 1999 issue of Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School (MTMS) will focus on the theme “Data and Chance in the Middle School Curriculum.” The Editorial Panel would like to feature exemplary lessons related to these topics, examine how these topics might be explored by middle school students, and highlight ways that data and chance can be connected to other areas of study.

Call for Manuscripts for the 1999 Focus Issue: Data and Chance in the Middle School Curriculum

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 397
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Mathematics Teaching ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
School Students ◽  
Middle School Curriculum

The march-april 1999 issue of Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School (MTMS) will focus on the theme “Data and Chance in the Middle School Curriculum.” The Editorial Panel would like to feature exemplary lessons related to these topics, examine how these topics might be explored by middle school students, and highlight ways that data and chance can be connected to other areas of study.

Call for Manuscripts for the 1999 Focus Issue: Data and Chance in the Middle School Curriculum

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 249
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Mathematics Teaching ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
School Students ◽  
Middle School Curriculum

The march 1999 issue of Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School (MTMS) will focus on the theme “Data and Chance in the Middle School Curriculum.” The Editorial Panel would like to feature exemplary lessons related to these topics. examine how these topics might be explored by middle school students, and highlight ways that data and chance can be connected to other areas of study.

Using Literature to Engage Students in Proportional Reasoning

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 142-148
Author(s):  
Sherri L. Martinie ◽  
Jennifer M. Bay-Williams
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Proportional Reasoning ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
School Students ◽  
Middle School Curriculum ◽  
Percent Increase

Proportional thinking appears in the middle school curriculum in many topics, including percent increase, functions, similarity, and scaling. Being able to reason proportionally enables students to make sense of these topics. Proportional reasoning is quite difficult for many middle school students, so it is imperative to find meaningful contexts that enable students to explore proportionality as it appears across mathematics strands.

On My Mind: New Tricks for Old Dogs

2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-7
Author(s):  
Margaret Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
National Science Foundation ◽  
Middle Grades ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Middle School Curriculum ◽  
National Science ◽  
Mathematics In Context ◽  
The Way

One of my favorite far side cartoons features Rex the Wonder Dog. Rex is shown balancing an elaborate array of objects while traversing a tightrope on a unicycle. The caption reads, “High above the hushed crowd, Rex tried to remain focused. Still, he couldn't shake one nagging thought: He was an old dog and this was a new trick.” Maybe that cartoon speaks to you the way it does to me. As one of the developers of the middle-grades curriculum Mathematics in Context (MiC), one of the Standardsbased middle school curriculum projects funded by the National Science Foundation, I have used that cartoon many times to describe to teachers, young and old, how it might feel to be a teacher who is about to implement a mathematics curriculum such as MiC. I can usually tell from the nervous laughter that although they might not be old, they recognize that the new Standards-based curricula will require them as teachers to learn “new tricks.”

Graphing Calculators Aren't Just for High School Students

1994 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 190-196
Author(s):  
Linda J. C. Taylor ◽  
Jeri A. Nichols
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Middle School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Graphing Calculators ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
School Students ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
And Function

Graphing calculators are revolutionizing the learning and teaching of mathematics. Students can view and manipulate graphs of functions in a matter of seconds. Such features as “plot,” “graph,” “trace,” and “zoom” offer opportunities for users to develop an understanding of the terms variable and function. According to the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM 1989), these concepts are vital aspects of the middle school curriculum. According to the standards document, “[A]n ideal 5-8 mathematics curriculum would expand students' knowledge of numbers,… patterns and functions, and the fundamental concepts of algebra” (pp. 65-66). In addition, “[T]echnology, including calculators, computers, and videos, should be used when appropriate” (p. 67). It stand to reason that tools to aid in understanding such concepts as variable and function, specifically graphing calculators, should not be reserved for high school juniors and seniors. This article discusses the use of graphing calculators by students of middle school age in an enrichment program for academically able, but economically disadvantaged, students. The exercises described helped students develop an understanding about variable and function. Students were actively engaged in problem solving that involved hands-on, real-life activities.

Listening to Middle School Students' Algebraic Thinking

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-161
Author(s):  
John P. Smith ◽  
Elizabeth A. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
Algebraic Thinking ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Core ◽  
K 12

NO PART OF THE K–12 MATHEMATICS curriculum is more fluid and controversial than introductory algebra. Content and assessment issues lie at the core of this debate: What algebra skills and understandings are important? What kind of evidence suggests that students possess these skills? Neither question can be answered in simple terms; in fact, no single “right” answer may exist for either one.

Take Time for Action: Perimeter or Area? Which Measure Is It?

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-23
Author(s):  
Michaele F. Chappell ◽  
Denisse R. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Past ◽  
Fundamental Understanding ◽  
K 12

During the past twenty years, documents have recommended that the mathematics curriculum include measurement for all grades, K–12 (NCTM 1980, 1989). Indeed, students interact daily with measurement in their physical environment, for example, by finding the distance from home to school, their height and weight, and wall space for posters. Adolescents bring to the classroom varied conceptions of measurement, which may be in the form of basic applications or general formulas. All too often, a fundamental understanding of these ideas is sacrificed while students learn general formulas. This situation is particularly true for attributes of perimeter and area. To what extent do middle school students possess a conceptual understanding of these measurement concepts?

Cognitive Effects of a Logo-Enriched Mathematics Program for Middle School Students

1988 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra V. Turner ◽  
Michael L. Land
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
Common Factor ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Minimal Amount ◽  
School Students ◽  
Mathematical Concepts ◽  
Logo Programming

This study investigated the effect of learning Logo on middle-school students' understanding of specific mathematical concepts and on their level of cognitive development. Students in the Logo Group ( n = 91) learned Logo for one hour a week for sixteen weeks as part of their regular mathematics curriculum. The Control Group ( n = 90) did not participate in the Logo program but received the full allotted time for their regular mathematics curriculum. No significant differences were found between the two groups in their understanding of mathematics concepts or in their growth in cognitive development. However, among the students in the Logo Group, those who learned the most Logo gained significantly more than those who learned a minimal amount of Logo both in their understanding of the mathematics concepts and in their level of cognitive development. When the High Logo group was compared to the Control Group, and also to a matched subset of the Control Group, there were large differences in favor of the High Logo group, but the results were not significant. The findings of this study suggest that cognitive development, achievement in mathematics, and achievement in Logo programming all share a common factor and that students who do well in one area are also likely to do well in the other two areas.

Call for Manuscripts for the 1998 Focus Issue

1996 ◽  
Vol 1 (10) ◽  
pp. 801
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Mathematics Teaching ◽  
Middle Grades ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Middle School Curriculum

The march-april 1998. issue of mathematics Teaching in the Middle School will focus on the theme “Geometry across the Middle School Curriculum.” The Editorial Panel is planning this issue to highlight and celebrate the extent to which geometric ideas permeate the mathematics curriculum of the middle school. Additionally, we wish to highlight the multitude of applications of geometry to other areas of study in the middle grades.

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