Mathematics Educators Stack Exchange Community Digest

Top new questions this week:

Single variable complex analysis textbook which uses differential forms

Is there any single variable complex analysis textbook which uses $\textrm{d}\bar{z}$? Every single variable text I have found defines what a complex line integral with respect to $\textrm{d}z$ means, ...

textbooks complex-numbers

Weekly quizzes as an alternative for midterms? What is this called?

I have seen (by some of my former instructors) the following strategy applied as an alternative to traditional "midterms and final" assessment in a math course: Students take a quiz weekly. ...

Looking for a rigorous middle school self-study math course

My son is in 5th grade (US) and since he is doing remote learning, we have been doing a lot of topics in pre-algebra just using worksheets. I'd like to start him on a formal middle school curriculum, ...

algebra self-learning curriculum middle-school

How to explain the LCM algorithm to an 11 year old?

Tl;dr: I am trying to teach my sister how the LCM algorithm works but I just can't figure out how to explain it intuitively. The best explanation I can give is that you're trying to construct a number ...

secondary-education teaching

Reference request for 1960s-1970s Australia/NZ primary-level textbooks

Where could I find a list, and ideally discussion, of primary school mathematics schemes (textbook series) in common use in Australia and New Zealand in the period immediately following decimalization ...

reference-request textbooks

Is the AMC 10/12 Test the Difference Maker for Top Schools? What do Colleges Look for?

The AMC 10/12 test is a test used in a math competition for high school students. I have a few students that know LaTeX who are very young and are extremely advanced for their age in high school. As a ...

Greatest hits from previous weeks:

Real-world examples of more "obscure" geometric figures

As part of my secondary geometry class I like to hook students by presenting real-world examples (usually images I find online or have taken myself) of different geometric shapes from real life. For ...

secondary-education geometry

How to explain that we live in a three-dimensional world?

How does one explain, clearly and simply, that we live in a three-dimensional world? The explanation has to be understandable for a twelve year old child.

secondary-education concept-motivation geometry physical-sciences

Should college mathematics always be taught in such a way that real world applications are always included?

I am teaching Linear Algebra this semester with the textbook Introduction to Linear Algebra by Serge Lang and most (perhaps all?) my students are not majoring in mathematics. As I was carefully ...

Should students be told they're wrong

I base this question off where I got my motivation for math and science. Throughout several attempts in my junior years, I was able to design a perpetual motion machine, design a free energy device, ...

secondary-education student-motivation students-mistakes

Why do we teach even and odd functions?

I've been either a student or an instructor in Precalculus or Calculus 1 at about 6 institutions now, and teaching the definition of even functions (where $f(-x) = f(x)$) and odd functions (where \$f(-...

Is there a simple example that empirical evidence is misleading?

Suppose that I want to show a student that empirical evidence in mathematics is not enough and we do need proofs, what kind of examples can I use? By empirical evidence, I mean that (most of the time)...

What are some of the open problems that can be suitably introduced in a calculus course?

I feel it may be a good idea to introduce some related open problems in a calculus course. Surely I am not expecting my students to solve any one of them, though I cannot say it is absolutely ...