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Tag Archives: education
Exponents
In our first encounter with exponents, we are taught that exponentiation is notation that simply means “multiply the number by itself some number of times.” For instance, 35 means the same thing as 3×3×3×3×3. For most people, this is a … Continue reading
Herald’s House of Horrors
We often come up with solutions to problems that lend themselves to various interpretations. Exploring the different interpretations can be useful, as such exploration has the potential to provide deeper insight into the problem at hand, or lead to an … Continue reading
All Roads…
One of the great joys of mathematics—and one of the things that I think is often lost in lower level math classes—is that problems, especially the interesting ones, rarely have a single solution. When a given question is asked, there … Continue reading
Ghosts
For whatever reason, I have been unable to get into the student database on campus. What this means is that I have no access to up-to-date rosters for my algebra classes. Because I do not know who is still taking … Continue reading
A Quiz Question
I am always fascinated to see how students manage to incorrectly answer exam and quiz questions. Not only does this provide a great insight into my own deficiencies as an instructor, but it also gives me some idea about how … Continue reading
Trigonometric Identities
I have a much younger sister who is currently in high school. In her mathematics classes, she has started to get into trigonometry and trigonometric identities. A few nights ago, she had some questions, which got me thinking once again … Continue reading
The Great Gatsby
This morning, a comic by Zach Weiner: Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is a great comic, even if it does veer off into not-safe-for-work territory from time to time. You should all be reading it. Of course, today’s is of special … Continue reading
What Math?
As should be clear by now, I love mathematics. I like working through problems, and I enjoy the insights that can come from a good understanding of mathematical logic. Moreover, I strongly believe that mathematics is essential to a strong … Continue reading
What’s Wrong with Teacher Education?
I am of the opinion that most teacher education programs in the United States (and probably elsewhere, as well) do a fairly poor job of actually preparing teachers to teach. My main complaint is that the transition from student to … Continue reading
Little White Lies
A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a ton of explanation. —H. H. Munro I have a confession to make: I lie to my students. Not only that, I do it all of the time. More scandalously, I’m not the only teacher … Continue reading