Questions tagged [mathematical-pedagogy]
for questions on general considerations and problems of teaching mathematics, i.e., issues specific to teaching mathematics yet relevant to various contexts and courses.
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Why are math test scores dropping in America? Lack of student responsibility movement [closed]
Someone asked me this question today. Why do you honestly believe that high school math test scores in America (particularly the United States) are low compared to other countries? I thought about ...
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2answers
211 views
Is there a book or Web site that explains how to use and teach the Singapore math block model?
I have been examining sites that illustrate the use of the block model for solving problems. I am an adult with a degree in math and I have an interest in seeing how math can be taught.
From what I ...
5
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1answer
189 views
Making the leap from Pre-Calculus to Calculus
This question is targeted at teachers who taught both low and high level mathematics. I have a group of students that I'm currently teaching precalculus and they seem to be doing really well in all ...
7
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5answers
411 views
Creating an Engaging Class Atmosphere
I would like to start out next year by creating a classroom community. This year I noticed a lot of burnout towards the second half of the year. Basically, I want to see what kinds of games/activities ...
4
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2answers
107 views
Textbooks with solutions and catering to different circumstances
Questions: Are we really taking students into account FULLY when writing textbooks for various areas? Also, are we being unintentionally elitist or dismissive when neglecting to take a more humble ...
4
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0answers
84 views
Objectives for group work in undergraduate pure maths
Whether we are preparing undergraduates for research in industry or academia effective collaboration is an important higher skill. I think there are two aspects to this in mathematics - thinking ...
15
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3answers
2k views
How many of “The Seven Laws of Teaching” are still relevant for teaching maths today?
Wikipedia shows that in 1886 John Milton Gregory outlined his "The Seven Laws of Teaching"; asserting that a teacher should:
Know thoroughly and familiarly the lesson you wish to teach; ...
6
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7answers
3k views
How do you handle the frustration of having to GRADE student exams / homework?
A math student may write very long and detailed answers, just because he or she does not know what to look for, for example in Geometry proofs.
Or - a student may just write an arbitrary step without ...
5
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2answers
214 views
Why are most college level math textbooks black and white only?
Why are higher level math textbooks almost completely black and white? I can't think of any math textbooks on a subject more advanced than calculus that uses colors. Edited to add that the comments by ...
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2answers
190 views
Which works better for learning 6 * 7 = 42: saying “six sevens are forty-two”, or “six times seven equals forty-two”?
When memorizing and recalling the times table, I learned to say "six sevens are forty-two", and always wondered what it would be like to learn to say "six times seven equals forty-two&...
2
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3answers
217 views
Why do we typically only teach high-school students affine transformations of elementary functions?
A standard pre-calculus curriculum consists of the study of elementary functions: Polynomials, rational functions, (circular and hyperbolic) trigonometric functions, exponential functions, their ...
9
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7answers
364 views
Worth introducing a mandatory short module on $\LaTeX$ into a mathematics degree?
On Mathematics StackExchange for a particular instance, it is highly recommended that questioners mark up their questions using $\LaTeX$. A surprising number of mathematicians and student ...
2
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0answers
210 views
Which areas of maths should underperforming western countries focus on?
I am not sure which StackExchange to ask this question but I am interested in the relative underperformance of Western countries such as Australia, US, UK compared to other higher performing countries ...
3
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1answer
149 views
Successor to School Mathematics Study Group (SMSG)
From reviews on Amazon of the various high school math texts by Mary Dolciani et al of the SMSG, I assume that there might be a successor to the approach (referred to as “the new math”) taken by the ...
2
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1answer
275 views
Are there any university programs that “supersize” calculus courses?
Most differential calculus courses begin with the theory (and analysis) of differentiation, followed by computations, and likewise integral calculus courses. That's a lot for a three credit course, ...
12
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3answers
356 views
How to teach the Pythagorean theorem in a satisfying way to high school students?
I've been pretty dissatisfied with the way the Pythagorean theorem is usually taught, mainly for two reasons:
The chosen proof feels like magic and I don't feel like I have a better understanding of ...
13
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3answers
2k views
Finding the Balance in a Math Question (Teaching)
As we try to work and teach in the midst of this pandemic, some problems arise when making online math exams. My question is simple: What could be an interesting basic differentiation question such ...
2
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2answers
212 views
How do we explain to a little child that a date in 2020 and a date in 2021 are not necessarily a year apart?
I talked with my friend on December 29 2020. Then I talked with him again on January 03, 2021.
Q: What was the year when you last talked with your friend?
A: 2021.
Q: And what was the year the ...
5
votes
1answer
268 views
Do my students know elementary algebra; do they just use online calculators or external help; and is this ok?
Background
I know the question in the title is very broad so I will try to explain it as succinctly as I can. Half my time is spent on as a researcher on didactics, while the other half is devoted to ...
7
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7answers
1k views
Advice on teaching abstract algebra and logic to high-school students
NOTE:
This question will soon be duplicated, as I didn't make clear that I was a high school sophmore in the beginning. At first I thought it didn't matter, and somewhat arrogant to mention, but in ...
10
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4answers
456 views
How do you teach students about the concept of a proof?
I get this question a lot from new students who are taking their first proof-based math class. They are struggling because they don't have that fluency with proofs, to begin with. They don't know ...
1
vote
1answer
74 views
Resources for Unit Rates
I am currently mentoring my little brother in mathematics. There is an issue with the pedagogy of unit rates. For example when given the following concept " 11.00 U.S. Dollars to 20 Planet X ...
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0answers
197 views
Do you avoid examples or test questions that showcase an algorithmic plug'n'chug approach?
If we accept that there's not much learning from doing the "same" questions, like find the derivative of $x^2$, and $x^3$, and $x^4$ due to the algorithmic way of how it's done, then what ...
2
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2answers
557 views
Teaching Mathematics to a Younger Sibling
I always wanted to teach my siblings mathematics, and one, ten years of age, is particularly eager. For the purposes of specializing recommendations, I will add he can use arithmetic up to ...
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0answers
103 views
Prerequisites to study Laplace Transform completely?
Hello to all the professors who read this. I'm an electrical engineering undergrad student. I wanted to ask for advice on what I should learn beforehand to fully grasp the Laplace transform. I also ...
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1answer
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Relational understanding for a specific topic
I want to aproach the undertanding of the trigonometric function based on the concept of relacional undertanding, but I have problems to came up with and problemic situation for it. I mean I don´t ...
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2answers
237 views
How can I teach $\frac{300}{200}$ to 10 years old students while s\he knows canceling the zeroes rule?
I am teaching math to a 10 year old student. He learned that
$$\frac{300}{100}=\require{cancel}\frac{3\cancel{00}}{1\cancel{00}}=3$$
and
$$\frac{6000}{300}=\require{cancel}\frac{60\cancel{00}}{3\...
2
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0answers
79 views
Math websites/apps for high school students
I am undergraduate math student who is interested in being a high school math teacher. I have been given an assignment to present to my class (for a total of about 20 minutes) a teaching tool or a ...
9
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1answer
272 views
If a computer could be programmed to do a math test, then should those tests be changed?
Not only do calculators have solving capabilities, but some computer programs or websites also provide step-by-step solutions to questions (here is WolframAlpha's). Although I understand a logical ...
8
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3answers
332 views
Transitioning proof based math courses online
I'd love to learn from anyone's recent experiences teaching online proof based math courses, especially those that have a large group of students who will be working asynchronously. My usual proof ...
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0answers
80 views
Teaching aid for online mathematics course
Crossposting from the math.stackexchange (Question)
Online classes will start again as the semester will start, I bought an XP-Pen deco 03 to help me with online teaching. I will be teaching ...
9
votes
2answers
520 views
Fear of notation and hazily-appeared writing in Mathematics
I am looking for literature related to fear of notation in mathematics.
It is even heard that the font size and font type make a reader reluctant to study mathematical literature, often lecture notes,...
5
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2answers
269 views
Appealing thinking games, that are easy to make; easy to learn, and easy to play
$\color{Green}{\text{My Question in short}}$:
Unprovable claim: Someone who is familiar with 100 thinking-games, and plays 30 of them reasonably well, is more prepared to go to math than the average ...
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7answers
9k views
How can teachers warn students about common mistakes without causing the student to make the mistake?
For example, if you're teaching integration of $\int \frac{dx}{1+x^2}$, would you mention the common wrong answer of $\ln\left(1+x^2\right)+C$?
--
For myself, I very rarely mention common mistakes ...
5
votes
2answers
239 views
What is “mastery” in a mathematical topic?
This question was prompted by looking at Khan Academy's website to see how a comprehensive lecture series could be done and often I see the word, "mastery". To me, I'd think mastery is ...
7
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2answers
512 views
Logic and proofs in secondary school
Inspired by the question When do college students learn rigorous proofs?, I became curious when pupils in secondary schools learn about proofs, what kinds of proofs they are, how rigorously they are ...
8
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2answers
243 views
Math Education for Students who use Right-to-Left Written Languages
Does anyone know of any studies or have personal experience dealing with difficulties (if any) faced by students studying mathematics if they come from countries which use languages written from right-...
6
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5answers
403 views
Concrete way to teach addition and subtraction of fractions
I am teaching 4th-grade kids. The topic is Fraction. Basic understanding of a fraction as a part of the whole and as part of the collection is clear to the kids. Several concrete ways exist to teach ...
6
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3answers
697 views
Looking for a HIERARCHY of math subjects
If you were to "map" mathematics onto a tree structure where the top is "Mathematics", and then below it the different branches, then sub-branches, etc.
What do you suggest is a good structure, for ...
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6answers
5k views
How rigorous should high school calculus be?
In the UK, calculus taught in secondary school focuses mainly on computation of derivatives and integrals and solving simple differential equations. There is a small amount of discussion about limits ...
3
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2answers
176 views
Has a List of Fundamental Mathematical Skills been compiled?
... in the literature.
I an wondering is there a (considered) list of "fundamental mathematical skills".
I am not sure can I give a solid definition of "fundamental mathematical skill". What I mean ...
4
votes
1answer
153 views
Are there any online question bank of mathematics questions?
I know Dr. Martin Greenhow and his team of Brunel University London have developed online questions and I have used some of these at the following url: http://maths-for-all.co.uk/engineering-...
3
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1answer
167 views
The spatial thinking course for primary school - what to use?
We're planning to run the project for first two grades of the elementary school kids, in which we want to facilitate the spatial thinking development along with the regular arithmetic course and make ...
3
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2answers
391 views
How actually are prime numbers taught in elementary school in United States and how easily do students learn what they're being taught about them?
I read the question https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/1593091/how-to-explain-why-study-prime-numbers-to-5th-graders and according to the body of the question, some students sigh. Also according ...
4
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2answers
194 views
What would you recommend for the math thinking course for school?
We're going to make a new math course for kids as intermediary between middle and high school with math profile (for preparation to entrance exams to high school), and before the main part (arithmetic,...
8
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1answer
370 views
Let P be a polygon
I've encountered the following misunderstanding.
I pose a question (to undergraduates in the U.S.), for example:
Let $P$ be a polygon of $n$ vertices.
Is it true that every triangulation of $P$
...
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4answers
744 views
Taxonomy of bad proofs
I am interested in finding examples of poorly written proofs that exemplify the types of mistakes made by undergraduate students in their first year or two of writing proofs. I am interested both in ...
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0answers
100 views
Is There Book on Collection of Theorems? [closed]
For example, there is a book titled "Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics: Containing Propositions, Formulae, And Methods Of Analysis, With Abridged Demonstrations" (...
2
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3answers
134 views
How to teach integrals motivated by the work done in moving an object?
I am now teaching Calculus of several variables this semester. In apllications of integrals, the problem of finding the work done in moving an object under a force $F$ is one of the most common ...
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3answers
430 views
Is there a numerical base that is in any way “better” for simple mathematical calculations than others?
I want to know if there are any numerical bases that are notably well-suited for humans to learn and use at an elementary or grade-school level.
I know that different numerical bases (i.e. decimal/...
