Category Archives: Assessment Practices

The Secret Question (Are We Actually Good at Math?)

By Benjamin Braun, Editor-in-Chief, University of Kentucky “How many of you feel, deep down in your most private thoughts, that you aren’t actually any good at math? That by some miracle, you’ve managed to fake your way to this point, … Continue reading

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Let Your Students Do Some Grading? Using Peer Assessment to Help Students Understand Key Concepts

By Elise Lockwood, Contributing Editor, Oregon State University On many occasions when I grade my students’ proofs, or when I read their solution to a particularly interesting problem, I am surprised by something I read. Sometimes I am surprised because … Continue reading

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Attending to Precision: A Need for Characterizing and Promoting Careful Mathematical Work

By Elise Lockwood, Contributing Editor, Oregon State University My research focus is on undergraduate students’ solving of counting problems, and I have worked toward better understanding students’ combinatorial thinking. Counting problems provide excellent opportunities for students to engage in meaningful … Continue reading

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The First Year of “On Teaching and Learning Mathematics”

By Benjamin Braun, Editor-in-Chief, University of Kentucky It has been one year since On Teaching and Learning Mathematics launched, so it seems an appropriate time for reflection.  As I re-read the 36 articles we have published over the past twelve … Continue reading

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Famous Unsolved Math Problems as Homework

By Benjamin Braun, Editor-in-Chief, University of Kentucky One of my favorite assignments for students in undergraduate mathematics courses is to have them work on unsolved math problems.  An unsolved math problem, also known to mathematicians as an “open” problem, is … Continue reading

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Inquiry-Oriented Instruction: What It Is and How We Are Trying to Help

By Estrella Johnson, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at Virginia Tech University, Karen Keene, Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at North Carolina State University, and Christy Andrews-Larson, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education at Florida State University Making fundamental changes to … Continue reading

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Teaching Mathematics Through Immersion

By Priscilla Bremser, Contributing Editor, Middlebury College. Chapter 1 of Make It Stick:  The Science of Successful Learning [2] is called “Learning is Misunderstood.”  That is an understatement, as demonstrated by the remaining chapters.  The book has received several strong … Continue reading

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Assessment in Postsecondary Mathematics Courses

By Benjamin Braun, Editor-in-Chief, University of Kentucky. Our understanding of the importance of processes and practices in student achievement has grown dramatically in recent years, both in mathematics education and education more broadly.  As a result, at the K-12 level … Continue reading

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Some Thoughts on the Teaching and Learning of Mathematical Practices

By Elise Lockwood, Contributing Editor, Oregon State University and Eric Weber, assistant professor of mathematics education in the College of Education, Oregon State University. As students’ mathematical thinking develops, and they encounter more advanced mathematical topics, they are often expected … Continue reading

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Teaching Practices Between and Beyond All Lecture and All Student Discovery

By Benjamin Braun, Editor-in-Chief, University of Kentucky. This post is inspired by an article by Karen Marrongelle and Chris Rasmussen [1], in which they discuss the false dichotomy between all lecture and all student discovery as the two exclusive teaching … Continue reading

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