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 ››
Michael de Villiers teaches courses in mathematics and mathematics education at University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. His website features a wealth of Dynamic Geometry-related books, articles, and sketches. He is the author of the Sketchpad activity module Rethinking Proof with The … Continue Reading ››
As readers of this blog can probably tell, I like puzzles. I especially enjoy taking ordinary mathematical topics that might not seem puzzle worthy and finding ways to inject some challenge, excitement, and mystery into them.
This week, I set my sights on isosceles triangles. It's common to encounter isosceles triangles as supporting players in geometric proofs, but … Continue Reading ››
When it comes to simultaneous equations, I like to push the bounds of conventional pedagogical wisdom. In an earlier post, I offered a puzzle in which elementary-age students solve for four unknowns given eight equations. Now, I'd like to present a puzzle that might sound even more audacious: Solving for ten unknowns. … Continue Reading ››
Dan Anderson commented on my Pentaflake post to observe that the pentaflake can also be created by a random process, sometimes called the Chaos Game. In this game you start with an arbitrary point and dilate it toward a target point that's randomly chosen from some set … Continue Reading ››
The study of multiples and factors is ripe with opportunities to engage students in intriguing mathematical puzzles. In prior posts (When Factoring Gets Personal, and Open the Safe), I've given some examples of what can be done. Now I'd like to introduce you to … Continue Reading ››
A couple of days ago I got an email from my long-time friend Geri, who was spending some quality Sketchpad time with her 12-year-old grandson Niels. Geri emailed me for advice because Neils was having some trouble figuring out how to construct a pentaflake. Neither Geri nor Niels had any idea that I'd never even … Continue Reading ››
From 2009 to 2013, I had the pleasure of working with the elementary teachers at the School for Discovery and Exploration in Brooklyn, New York as they field tested Sketchpad materials for the Dynamic Number project.
Although the project has … Continue Reading ››