Search Results

I see this as two separate questions: 1) Are there any downsides? 2) Should I condone it for my students? 1) As mentioned in other answers, it can make the transition into deeper areas more difficu …

A general anti-calculator strategy is to give the students the answer and then adjust your questioning accordingly. Suppose you were teaching multiplication and was trying to get them to do $23\time …

Suppose you had to teach averages to a teenager. For arguments sake let the question be; Find the mean of $2, 3, 4, 7$ Of course the simple answer is $\frac{2+3+4+7}{4}=4$ but in my experience the …

You could explore maps such as the London Underground where the actual distance and locations of stops are unimportant only their relationships. Perhaps this could be turned to a practical lesson some …

I usually teach solving linear equations by balancing both sides e.g. $$\begin{array}{cccc} 2x&+&3&=&5\\ &&\color{red}{-3}&&\color{red}{-3}\\ 2x&&&=&2\\ \color{red}{\div2}&&&&\color{red}{\div2}\\x&&& …

I let the students discover the rules for exponentiation as a consequence of finding prime factors. Students like the shorthand notation $24=2\times2\times2\times3=2^3\times3$ and related questions ar …

I'm currently involved in developing materials for a new UK tier of examination known as Core Maths. The course is designed for 16-18 year olds to further their mathematics education but without taki …

Consider $f(x)=x^2$ then $f(x-a)+b=(x-a)^2+b$ and geometrically corresponds to translating the graph of $y=f(x)$ by a vector $[a,b]^T$ In particular the vertex $(0,0) \mapsto (a,b)$ Cases such as $k …

I think in part you answered your own question. Students make these mistakes because they seem logical. What 'seems logical' to a student will be the product of a host of factors such as age, maturity …

Here's how I would have attempted the lesson. First I would have given the students various cards such as: $\sin(A+B)=\sin A+\sin B$ $\sin(A+B)=\sin A \cos B + \sin B \cos A$ $\sin(A+B)=\sin(B+A) …