440 views

A more rigorous approach to Precalculus

I am a pure mathematics PhD student and graduate teaching assistant at a major state university. During the summers here, teaching assistants are typically appointed to teach an entire course, rather ...
138 views

How to remedy the “freshman's dream”? [duplicate]

I am teaching a mid-level calculus course, and I see my students making the freshman's dream mistake of thinking that every function is a homomorphism. In particular, they think that exponents can be ...
281 views

Why most people think that :$(fg)'=f' \cdot g'$?

let $f$ and $g$ be two real valued function , I have asked many students what is the derivative of $(fg)'$ they answered me :it is $f' \cdot g'$, then I seek why most people (students) guess that ?
653 views

Constructive refutation of student misconception

Although @Gareth Shepherd recently posted Addressing fundamental math errors close to the issue, I experienced my problem of misunderstanding in class, where two good K10 students were asked to ...
215 views

How do i deal with students who make these mistakes? [closed]

I came across some interesting mistakes in many area of mathematics with my students and do not let me also to tell you for university students level, I would like to know How do i deal with ...
589 views

I recently learned how to use a slide rule and I have since been wondering why they are not commonly used to teach properties of logarithms. It seems that they are very clear examples of the $\log(a) +... 4answers 2k views How to Teach Adults Elementary Concepts I've recently taken on the task of helping out in my school's Math Center. The courses I assist in range from Algebra to Calculus. While I'm younger (in my 20's), most of the students at the school ... 3answers 1k views Commonly taught method divides by zero I just saw this question and the two answers. Now I am very sure that if many teachers see these answers they would accept them. Unfortunately they are deeply flawed. The second one is clearly invalid ... 5answers 628 views What are some common fallacies students make when they learn$X\$ concept?

What are some common mistakes students often make, which may seem logical at first? I'm a student myself, but I'm curious of what some of the most frequent mistakes which happens. I'm thinking of ...
283 views

Term and reference for the problem of students “overassociating” concepts with each other

I am writing a paper directed at a physics-education journal and I want to briefly refer to the phenomenon of students “overassociating” (in lack of a better term) mathematical concepts with each ...