All posts by Daniel Scher

Daniel Scher, Ph.D., is a senior academic designer at McGraw-Hill Education. He has co-directed two NSF-funded projects: the Dynamic Number project and the Forging Connections project.
Educational Technology, Geometry, Math Software

Constructing Equal-Area Triangles

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The origins of this week's Web Sketchpad model date back to the  Connected Geometry curriculum from the mid 1990s. I was one of the co-authors of the curriculum, working at Education Development Center with a  wonderful team of math educators (Al Cuoco, … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Geometric Functions, Math Software

Reflecting on the Annual NCTM Meeting

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This Thursday, Scott Steketee and I will be presenting two sessions at the NCTM 2015 Annual Meting in Boston: Functions as Dances: Experience Variation and Relative Rate of Change

Session 52 on Thursday, April 16, 2015: 8:00 AM-9:15 AM in 157 B/C (BCEC)

How better to explore rate of change than as independent and … Continue Reading ››

Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Math Software

Solving Simultaneous Equations with Common Sense

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Simultaneous equations belong in elementary-school mathematics curricula. That's been my mantra for many years, and I want to examine it now in the context of an interactive Web Sketchpad activity. When I say that elementary-age students should encounter simultaneous equations, I don't mean that they should be instructed in the standard algebraic procedure for solving pairs of equations … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Math Software

Moving Beyond Formulas When Investigating Triangle Area

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For the past year, my blogging partner Scott and I have worked with the team of Everyday Mathematics to build interactive Web Sketchpad models for their forthcoming new edition. It's been fun for both of us to find ways to insert dynamic mathematics into their K–6 curriculum. Last year, I … Continue Reading ››
Assessment, Educational Technology, Math Software

Innovative Approaches to Computer-Based Assessment, Part Four

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For the past month, I've focused this blog on the role that computers can play in assessing students' mathematical knowledge. I've presented three Web Sketchpad-based examples of assessment with mathematical topics ranging from isosceles triangles, to the Pythagorean Theorem, to the Continue Reading ››
Assessment, Educational Technology, Math Software

Innovative Approaches to Computer-Based Assessment, Part Three

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Today there is no lack of outrage directed at the high-stakes standardized testing that has become so prevalent in the U.S. educational system. A recent opinion piece in The New York Times examines the backlash against the Common Core and lays the blame not on the standards themselves, but rather … Continue Reading ››
Assessment, Common Core, Educational Technology, Math Software

Innovative Approaches to Computer-Based Assessment, Part Two

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In my previous post, I shared Dan Meyer's analysis of what's wrong with computer-based mathematics assessments. Dan focuses his critique on the Khan Academy's eighth-grade online mathematics course, identifying 74% of its assessment questions as focusing on numerical answers or multiple-choice items. This is … Continue Reading ››

Assessment, Common Core, Educational Technology, Math Software

Can Computer-Based Assessment Model Worthwhile Mathematics?

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Several weeks ago, Dan Meyer described his experience of completing 88 practice sets in Khan Academy's eighth-grade online mathematics course. His goal was to document the types of evidence the Khan Academy asked students to produce of their mathematical understanding. Dan's findings were disappointing: He concludes that 74% of the Khan Academy's eighth-grade questions were either multiple choice or required nothing more … Continue Reading ››