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1500 questions
11
votes
9 answers
Simple examples that violate group axioms
In a course for non-math-majors at a liberal arts college, I would like to give a few lectures and activities about groups and symmetry. I think it's straightforward to explain the group axioms and why they apply to, for instance, the set of…
Brendan W. Sullivan
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Shanghai math -- what is it, and how good is it?
Some schools in the UK are adopting English translations of a grade school math textbook from Shanghai. The book appears to be designed to work with a specific teaching approach, the only specifics given in the NY Times article being:
Students…
user507
11
votes
1 answer
What do the Common Core Standards expect secondary students to learn about logarithms or the number $e$?
I've been looking through the Common Core State Standards (http://www.corestandards.org/Math/) and have been surprised to find very little reference to exponential functions and logarithms. Specifically, as far as I can tell, none of the following…
mweiss
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11
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4 answers
Is it better to study in groups or by yourself?
As the title says, do you learn math faster by working on problems in groups, where you can discuss your solutions or by doing it all by yourself? I can't see any advantage of working in groups because if you get stuck on a problem, you can just ask…
Stand with Gaza
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4 answers
What is most motivating way to introduce Fermat's Little Theorem
What is the best way to introduce Fermat’s Little Theorem (F$l$T) to students?
What can I use as an opening paragraph which will motivate and have an impact on why students should learn this theorem and what are the applications of F$l$T? Are there…
matqkks
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11
votes
3 answers
How to engage low-level students?
I'm a recent graduate in my first year of teaching. I teach secondary students, and I have found that some low-level students are not listening in class. They seem to have given up and stopped trying. I feel it's hard to make a difference or help…
EXL
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11
votes
0 answers
Literature on student understanding of assumptions
In a discussion with a physics lecturer he mentioned that one major area where students fail is understanding assumptions - for example, if we are interested in two objects hitting each other and then bouncing off, we can probably ignore gravity,…
Tommi
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11
votes
5 answers
Number theory for self-study students: books and computer languages
Sometimes students will contact me, as my email is visible. This time, an undergraduate in Sri Lanka has no number theory courses available and is self-studying.
My own experience is that it helps to run computer experiments; that is how I learned…
Will Jagy
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11
votes
2 answers
Transitioning from 'Read textbook to learn' to 'Read original paper/Read paragraphs of textbooks'
I wanted to ask the following on Mathematics stack exchange, but checking the help centre, it appears that this site is more relevant: "Mathematical education, especially about teaching and pedagogy: Mathematics Educators"
Throughout my…
Display Name
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11
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1 answer
How to denote angle?
I'm teaching mathematics on my free time for young pupils. Once I have seen that they denote angles like $\angle ABC$. But sometimes I have difficulties to understand whether they mean an angle or its explementary angle, especially in problems…
freetimetutor
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11
votes
1 answer
Typical rate of success in junior or senior level math courses at US universities
I am curious, if we define success or failure by grades earned, or pass-rate (pass meaning the student does not need to retake the course) then what is the typical pass rate for students in upper level courses at universities in the US. Of course,…
James S. Cook
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11
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1 answer
Where can I find a set of these 'logic' blocks?
(It will be difficult to answer this question without 'advertising' for a retailer, but I've searched for these several times in the past few years, to no avail.)
In Math From Three To Seven (The story of a Mathematical Circle for Preschoolers),…
NiloCK
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11
votes
2 answers
Math Outdoor/Camping Games and Activities
Me and my 7th-grade students are going to a 3-day trip. It's an excellent opportunity to have some outdoor math games and activities. What games and activities do you suggest? Do you know any source for finding them?
Behzad
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11
votes
1 answer
Helping a student exasperated by abstract concepts in linear algebra
I am currently tutoring a student in linear algebra. She is a very hard worker and does well on computational problems, but struggles to build mathematical intuition. This struggle is compounded by the fact that she is not working in her native…
AegisCruiser
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11
votes
3 answers
Introducing (Borel) measures via Riesz representation theorem
I think, the most standard way is to introduce measures in real analysis is to define them via the usual properties like $\sigma$-additivity, etc.
However, if the students are familiar with functional analysis at that point, one can introduce…
Markus Klein
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