Category Archives: Classroom Practices

Mathematics Professors and Mathematics Majors’ Expectations of Lectures in Advanced Mathematics

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Elise Lockwood

By Keith Weber, associate professor of Mathematics Education at Rutgers’ Graduate School of Education. Dr. Weber is one of the faculty in Rutgers’ Proof Comprehension Research Group. Introduction The advanced proof-oriented courses for mathematics majors are typically taught in a lecture … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Practices, Student Experiences | Tagged lecture, proofs, student expectations | 3 Comments

Community, Professional Advice, and Exposure to New Ideas at the Carleton Summer Mathematics Program

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Ben Braun

By: Sarah Blackwell, mathematics major, Saint Louis University; Rose Kaplan-Kelly, mathematics major, Bryn Mawr College; and Lilly Webster, mathematics major, Grinnell College Editor’s note: The editorial board believes that in our discussion of teaching and learning, it is important to include the authentic … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Practices, Student Experiences, Summer Programs | Tagged community, lie theory, REU, stereotypes, summer mathematics program, topology | Comments Off

Using Primary Source Projects to Teach Mathematics

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Diana White

by Janet Barnett, Colorado State University – Pueblo; Dominic Klyve, Central Washington University; Jerry Lodder, New Mexico State University; Daniel Otero, Xavier University; Nicolas Scoville, Ursinus College; and Diana White, Contributing Editor, University of Colorado Denver Mathematics faculty and educational … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Practices | Tagged active learning, history of mathematics, primary sources, teaching, undergraduate | Comments Off

The Hungarian Approach and How It Fits the American Educational Landscape

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Art Duval

By Ryota Matsuura, Assistant Professor of Mathematics at St. Olaf College and North American Director of Budapest Semesters in Mathematics Education. Home to eminent mathematicians such as Paul Erdős, John von Neumann, and George Pólya, Hungary has a long tradition of … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Practices | Tagged habits of mind, Hungarian approach, problem solving, student opportunities | 1 Comment

The Liberal Art of Mathematics

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Priscilla Bremser

By Priscilla Bremser, Contributing Editor, Middlebury College Somehow, over the last 600 years or so, mathematics has moved from the core of the liberal arts disciplines to entirely outside. We’re all used to this; a “liberal arts math” course is … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Practices, Multidisciplinary Education | Tagged Common Core Standards, liberal arts, mathematics majors, STEM | 2 Comments

Reading Articles in Mathematics Education – It’s Not Just for Prospective Teachers!

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Elise Lockwood

By Elise Lockwood, Contributing Editor, Oregon State University. When I teach classes for pre-service teachers, I typically have the students read and discuss a math education article about the teaching or learning of content they may eventually teach. This may … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Practices, Student Experiences | Tagged Conceptual Understanding, Learning Environment, Mathematics Education, Papers | Comments Off

We Did the Math! Student Perspectives on Inquiry-Based Learning

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Ben Braun

By Sarah E. Andrews and Justin R. Crum, undergraduate Mathematics majors at Northern Arizona University, and Taryn M. Laird, graduate student in Mathematics at, and 2014 graduate of, Northern Arizona University. Editor’s note: The editorial board believes that in our … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Practices, Student Experiences | Tagged community, critical thinking, gender, IBL, inquiry based learning, mathematics, students | 1 Comment

Proportionality Confusion

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Art Duval

By Dick Stanley, Professional Development Program, University of California at Berkeley The notion of one quantity being proportional to another is certainly a very basic part of an understanding of mathematics and of its applications, from middle school through calculus … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Practices | Tagged proportion, proportionality, ratio | 16 Comments

Helping All Students Experience the Magic of Mathematics

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Elise Lockwood

By Oscar E. Fernandez, Assistant Professor in the Mathematics Department at Wellesley College. Mathematics is a beautiful subject, and that’s something that every math teacher can agree on. But that’s exactly the problem. We math teachers can appreciate the subject’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Practices | Tagged beauty, everyday mathematics, guiding students, relevance, teaching | 4 Comments

The Place of Mathematics and the Mathematics of Place

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Ben Braun

By Carl Lee, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Kentucky and Chellgren Endowed Professor at the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence. Editor’s Note: Carl Lee is a recipient of the 2014 Deborah and Franklin Tepper Haimo Award from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom Practices, Communication, Education Policy | Tagged Appalachia, mathematical practices, place, STEM, teaching, Wendell Berry, ZPD | Comments Off