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1500 questions
14
votes
4 answers
What is a good book to learn all of prealgebra?
I am an old man trying to learn math, starting off with prealgebra and need a good comprehensive book for it. The book should NOT contain annoying images like in most American textbooks or anything irritating, just serious math. It should be…
OldAgedStudent
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14
votes
1 answer
Advantages of learning different topics simultaneously
The context
In high school here in Australia, students have one mathematics class which runs all year. The students do maths class most days, and the course passes from one topic to the next, one after the other. They may study quadratic equations…
DavidButlerUofA
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14
votes
3 answers
Resources for reading mathematics out loud in different languages
Are there reference books or online material for reading mathematics out loud in different languages?
For example, the expression1)
$$
\int x^2dx=\frac13x^3
$$
is understandable to anyone who has studied mathematics, independently of their language…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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14
votes
1 answer
Resources suitable for a beginners' course with exponentials
I'm currently involved in developing materials for a new UK tier of examination known as Core Maths. The course is designed for 16-18 year olds to further their mathematics education but without taking the traditional A level maths (which is seen…
Karl
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14
votes
5 answers
Community College Remedial Mathematics difficulties for students
I've been teaching remedial mathematics for the better part of a decade, and I've noticed a big trend in my classes lately. Many of my students are able to grasp the more complex ideas but still struggle with the basic facts (e.g.,…
Andrew Sanfratello
- 3,681
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14
votes
2 answers
Is there a framework to study the mathematical competence in problem-posing?
I've read some articles about it and those papers show us that there are some facts to understand the mathematical competence in problem-posing. Besides that, those investigations show that there are some indicators to assess the competence.
Brown,…
Carlos Torres
- 605
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14
votes
1 answer
Students blogging on math
Has anyone had their students (high school and beyond) put expositions of math problems/topics/projects on a class blog to be critiqued by other students and revised on-the-fly to provide some interactive feedback and social incentive/synergy?
If…
Tom Copeland
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14
votes
4 answers
How to visually demonstrate basic algebra
I'm a private tutor working with a 7th grader who is struggling with solving equations. Given a simple equation, he is able to solve it using a formulaic procedure, but it is very obvious that he has no idea what the solution really means. Hence, if…
Ian Taylor
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14
votes
4 answers
Is there an elementary way to explain that a map of the earth cannot preserve distances?
I am teaching a short "topics in geometry" course to future high school math teacher in France.
I plan to cover some spherical geometry. I will be treating the following topics:
volume of the ball and area of the sphere,
length-minimizing property…
Thomas Richard
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14
votes
4 answers
What should I do with kissing problem?
There are two young lovers in one of my crowded calculus classes. Sometimes when I am explaining an idea I see they are kissing each other and some of the other students are watching them and pay no attention to what I am explaining. I love lovers…
user230
14
votes
2 answers
How shall we use online math forums such as math.SE in mathematics instruction?
What is the best way to use online mathematics forums, such as mathematics.stackexchange.com or Khan Academy, in mathematics instruction?
I regularly encourage my undergraduate students to participate on mathematics.stackexchange.com (and my…
JDH
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14
votes
1 answer
How do online practicing websites decide how much practice / repetition is 'enough'?
I've worked with a few online programs that present students with drills / exercises / etc. for a period of time before deciding that they've 'done enough' for the day (e.g. Reflex Math). How do these sites (or their implementors) decide what's…
Andy Mikula
- 483
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14
votes
4 answers
Key theorems in undergraduate linear algebra
I've been asked by an high school student what are the $5$ major theorems in Lang's Linear Algebra (and therefore, by extension, in an undergraduate linear algebra course). Firstly, I bluntly said that the question holds a great deal of subjectivity…
Dal
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14
votes
4 answers
What are effective alternatives to a written math exam to evaluate knowledge?
Some students do not do well under pressure or testing situations and cannot demonstrate their knowledge of a math subject with a written exam. On the other hand, I think that students that do not have a good enough grasp of the material are able to…
Felix Y.
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14
votes
4 answers
Helping students use constructions in geometry
I work as a teaching assistant in a high school and geometry gives most students headaches.
I emphasize understanding the problem by constructing lines and using elementary properties to arrive at the solution instead of merely pulling a formula and…
Mark Fantini
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