Mathematics Educators Stack Exchange
Mathematics Educators Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
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votes
5 answers

Textbook For a Course on Classical Geometry

I have been assigned to teach a first year course in geometry the next academic year. This course has been running for quite a while in the university, but of late, has been thought of as redundant because the material being covered in the course is…
Aravind Gundakaram
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Fixing wrong ideas about coefficients (e.g. subtract 3 from 3x to isolate x)

I tutor a student (9th grade, United States) who is in an algebra class. She consistently makes mistakes when dealing with coefficients. The most common one is attempting to subtract away a coefficient, e.g. if I ask how to isolate $x$ in $3x = 9$…
bobble
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Does there exist a (statistical) topology induced by students on the space of algebraic formulas? :)

It's kind of a serious question even if the title seems silly. As math educators, we all know that students link together different algebraic expressions thinking that they mean the same thing, e.g. \begin{equation} (a+b)^2 =…
marco trevi
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How can we best motivate the study of polynomials to high-school students?

We all know how important and ubiquitous polynomials are in mathematics. However, when faced with a (not so much in love with the subject) 14-year-old asking us why they should care about these things, answering that studying polynomials opens the…
Federico
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Are Error-Analysis Lessons Effective?

I recently came across a thought-provoking video where Simon Sinek explains that the human brain struggles to process negative statements. In the video, Sinek states that skiers should not spend their time thinking "don’t hit the trees" because all…
FoiledIt24
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4 answers

Is there a fair way to increase the grade of students who did not do well in exams?

How can I fairly compensate a student who showed passion and dedication for my undergraduate course but performed poorly on the final exam, without unfairly advantaging them over other students? Additional context: The student spent a significant…
user19945
11
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2 answers

How do/should administrators estimate the cost of producing an online introductory mathematics class?

With the advent of the Internet administrators used to allocate release time or summer salary for making online course content. The pandemic made a Sal Khan out of most of us and making online content became more of a routine activity. Now…
Maesumi
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3 answers

Arithmetic books for adults

I'm trying to learn arithmetic from scratch again. Even though I can use it, I'm not sure if I can teach it to someone and I believe if you can't teach something properly, there might be loopholes in your understanding. Hence, I'm looking for a book…
Harshit Rajput
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4 answers

How can a teacher help a student who has internalized mistakes?

John is trying to learn some field of mathematics. John's teacher Sarah gives constructive criticism to John after seeing John's attempts on exercises related to the field he studies. Later, John tries a different set of exercises on the topic, and…
tryst with freedom
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Alternative remedial courses before calculus

I have seen remedial courses before a first undergraduate calculus course that consist of a mix of algebra, trigonometry and coordinate geometry. However, have there been any experiments with remedial courses focusing more on developing…
J W
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How can I build a protractor without a protractor?

We all know how to use a protractor; it is taught in elementary school. However, I was wondering what type of knowledge is required to build one from scratch. For instance, was the understanding of $\pi$ and a compass first required before the first…
YGranja
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Ideas for game-theoretic meta contest problems for HS students

$\text{Hi,}$ new contributor here. I am a teacher's assistant for a class in a Math Circle program for mathematically advanced high school (and occasionally a few middle school) students. I was planning to organize a contest for the students…
Lieutenant Zipp
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Why Massively Multivariate open online calculus class (M2O2C2) on Coursera was discontinued?

I know that MOOCs were generally unsuccessful. However, I felt that M2O2C2 in Coursera was a great (at least my favorite) course and it's a pity it was removed. Does anyone have any info - will it ever be back under any format?
Emil N
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For students who don't have instant recall with basic arithmetic, should I be stubborn about training them to have instant recall before moving on?

I'm a maths tutor, and my students/tutees are aged $11 - 18.$ Obviously I have limited time with students, usually one hour per week. Moreover, if parents don't see improvement over a year or two they will look for a better tutor which is…
Adam Rubinson
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Advanced Calculus vs. Analysis for a first proof-based course

Question: Why was advanced calculus removed as the first proof-based course in favor of real analysis in most curriculums? I regularly see in advanced calculus books either that: its purpose is, along with teaching certain knowledge, to introduce…
Mark Fantini
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