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The opinions expressed on this blog are the views of the writer(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the American Mathematical Society.
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Recent Posts
Category Archives: Student Experiences
Happy New Year(?)
Mark Saul, Editor Mathematics and mathematicians rarely make press. So it was a bit sweet, but mostly bitter, to read in the New Yorker of the deaths of John Conway, Ronald Graham, and Freeman Dyson, three great losses to our profession. … Continue reading
The Choice to go Asynchronous: Discussion Board Based IBL
by Tien Y. Chih Montana State University, Billings Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit during the Spring of 2020, I’ve been nothing short of impressed and amazed at my colleagues’ resourcefulness and creativity in shifting their courses to an online modality. … Continue reading
Posted in Active Learning in Mathematics Series 2015, Classroom Practices, Communication, Faculty Experiences, Mathematics Education Research, Online Education, Student Experiences
Tagged active learning, education, IBL, inquiry based learning, mathematical thinking, Mathematics Education
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Reflecting on mathematics as the art of giving the same name to different things (Part 2): Averages finite and continuous
by Bill Rosenthal, Queens, NY; Whitney Johnson, Morgan State University; Daniel Chazan, University of Maryland The July 15 blog post by Dan Chazan and two colleagues referred to Poincaré’s enigmatic remark: “Mathematics is the art of giving the same name … Continue reading
THE ZOOM ROOM: Vignette and Reflections About Online Teaching
Mark Saul A child’s insight “I know how to find out how many divisors a number has. You factor it into primes….” Alejandro was with a virtual group of four enthusiastic ten year olds, in the midst of exploring a … Continue reading
Posted in Active Learning in Mathematics Series 2015, Classroom Practices, Communication, Faculty Experiences, K-12 Education, Mathematics Education Research, Online Education, Outreach, Student Experiences
Tagged active learning, community, diversity, K-12 mathematics, mathematical practices, mathematical thinking, problem solving, productive struggle
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A K-pop dance routine and the false dilemma of concept vs. procedure
By Ben Blum-Smith, Contributing Editor For reasons that will not be considered here, I recently learned this dance: Although I have no background in any style of dance, I can now do the whole thing, start to finish. I am … Continue reading
Posted in Classroom Practices, Student Experiences
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The things in proofs are weird: a thought on student difficulties
By Ben Blum-Smith, Contributing Editor “The difficulty… is to manage to think in a completely astonished and disconcerted way about things you thought you had always understood.” ― Pierre Bourdieu, Language and Symbolic Power, p. 207 Proof is the central … Continue reading
Online learning in the time of Coronavirus: Tips for students and the instructors who support them
Abbe Herzig, AMS Director of Education In the midst of the upheaval due to the Coronavirus, students and faculty are transitioning to new virtual classrooms. Many of us haven’t chosen to learn or teach, but here we are, making the … Continue reading
Who are our students?
By: Edwin O’Shea, James Madison University In Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead, Reverend Ames testifies that each person in his flock has “a kind of incandescence in them… quick, and avid, and resourceful. To see this aspect of life is a privilege … Continue reading
The Future of Enrichment: Math Contests or Math Circles?
by Doug O’Roark Executive Director, Math Circles of Chicago The New York Times recently published an article entitled “The Right Answer? 8,186,699,633,530,061 (An Abacus Makes It Look Almost Easy)”. Its lead photograph features over 100 children seated at desks, facing … Continue reading
Some thoughts about epsilon and delta
By Ben Blum-Smith, Contributing Editor The calculus has a very special place in the 20th century’s traditional course of mathematical study. It is a sort of fulcrum: both the summit toward which the whole secondary curriculum strives, and the fundamental … Continue reading
Posted in Faculty Experiences, Mathematics Education Research, Student Experiences
Tagged calculus, continuity, definitions, delta, difficulty, epsilon, limit, proof, real analysis
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