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Opinions expressed on these pages were the views of the writers and did not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the American Mathematical Society.
Category Archives: Math Education
See Math, See Math Run
To me, the formula for the volume of a cone says “Did you know that 3 copies of the same cone occupy the same space as the smallest cylinder that contains one of them?” This fact relates (see picture) to … Continue reading
Ta Da!
This exclamation we commonly associate with magic, but also sometimes feel like uttering at the end of a proof. We strive to manufacture anticipation right before the final result is revealed. We hope that our presentation of the problem itself … Continue reading
Posted in Events, Math Education, Mathematics and the Arts, Recreational Mathematics
Tagged Ireland Maths week, Martin Gardner, math and magic, Mathemagician
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On Mathematics Education and Music Education
Last month, Jordan Ellenberg wrote about the Proof School, wondering, “ought there be a school just for math kids?” He is not entirely sold on the idea but later notes that there are schools just for music kids. What are … Continue reading
Posted in Math Education, Mathematics and the Arts
Tagged mathematics, mathematics and music
10 Comments
Rankings, Standards, and Inquiry, Oh my!
Ranking As concern for K-12 standards in public education has come to a head, the quality of teaching and learning in our public universities has also come under public scrutiny. Recently, President Obama announced that he wanted to rework the … Continue reading
Posted in Issues in Higher Education, K-12 Mathematics, Math Education
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You Get Calculus! And You Get Calculus! Everybody Gets Calculus!
In honor of the beginning of the school year, which is coming in the next few weeks for many of us, I thought you might like opencalculus. Matt Boelkins, a math professor at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, is working … Continue reading
Posted in Math Education, Publishing in Math
Tagged calculus, free textbooks, open calculus, open textbooks, textbooks
3 Comments
Dancing Mathy Masters
Creating or finding patterns, reasoning spatially, tending to aesthetics, being precise, and creating in a universal idiom—these are acts common to both math and dance. Not everyone is exposed to mathematics via art, especially a performing art. As a … Continue reading
Platonic Solids, Symmetry, and the Fourth Dimension
On his blog Azimuth, John Baez has been posting a series called “Symmetry and the Fourth Dimension.” He writes: “The idea is to start with something very familiar and then take it a little further than most people have seen…without … Continue reading
Posted in Math Education, Theoretical Mathematics
Tagged 3-d geometry, 4-d geometry, fourth dimension, geometry, john baez, platonic solids, polytopes, visualizaion
1 Comment
World Science Festival is happening now! (And there’s a lot about math going on)
A Physicist, two Mathematicians and a Philosopher walk into a room and start to discuss infinity. This sounds like the set up to a great joke. But it’s actually one of the events that will occur tonight at 8:00PM EST … Continue reading
Posted in Events, Math Education, Mathematics and the Arts, Recreational Mathematics, Theoretical Mathematics
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On Pregnancy and Probability
I have never been pregnant, but from what I understand, it is full of bizarre cravings, frequent bathroom breaks, and a smorgasbord of medical scans and tests. This last part is what concerns Kate Owens. She is a visiting assistant … Continue reading