The Web Sketchpad model below shows the function f(θ) = 1 – cos 2θ in both Cartesian and polar form. For each graph, the independent variable appears as a red bar that corresponds to a particular value of x (for Cartesian) or θ (for polar). The red bar has tick marks that … Continue Reading ››
Category Archives: Algebra
Introducing Web Sketchpad at the 2021 NCTM Annual Meeting
NCTM’s Virtual 2021 Annual Meeting ran from April 21 through May 1, and in Session 299 Daniel Scher, Karen Hollebrands, and I presented an on-demand video workshop to introduce Web Sketchpad (WSP). Even if you weren't able to attend the conference, you can still take … Continue Reading ››
The Perimeter Problem
When the Metamorphosis team of content coaches meet at their New York office, the day is filled with Qi Gong, video case analysis, good food, and—best of all—a mathematical challenge for everyone to investigate and discuss. These problems are chosen to be accessible across a wide range of grade levels and to allow for a variety … Continue Reading ››
Adding and Subtracting Integers
A recent post on the my NCTM discussion group asked about tools to help students visualize and understand addition and subtraction of integers.
I always found this confusing for some of my Algebra 1 students, mainly because they had been told to memorize some rules about whether to add or subtract the two integers and … Continue Reading ››