Blog Posts
Here are links to posts on my Math Education Blog that you might find interesting.
If you are so moved, you may comment on the posts, and/or subscribe to the blog.
Working with Pentominoes
Pentominoes are a geometric puzzle, a staple of recreational mathematics. Since the 1980's, my pentomino puzzles and lessons have provided me with opportunities to reach beyond the walls of own school. My pentomino materials have brought recreational mathematics to thousands of students over more than 40 years, and it's not over yet! This post is an update of a post from 2013, when Didax published my book Working with Pentominoes.
Can Bots Teach Math?
This is my modest contribution to Dan Meyer's many-year campaign to debunk the ridiculous claims of ed tech fantasists. It is a short piece where I try to get at the reasons why human teachers are necessary. I am not anti-tech, and have been involved with interactive geometry for decades. Nor is Dan, who has worked closely with Desmos. But our approaches are based on the needs of actual students, not the shallow self-serving dreams of CEO's.
Proof in High School
Over the years, I have written much about how to better teach proof as part of a geometry course. In this post, I link to some of those pieces, but I mostly concentrate on a proposal to include proof in high school post-Algebra 2 electives — including proof by contradiction and proof by mathematical induction, neither of which are included in the Common Core State Standards. I have done that effectively for years, and I strongly recommend it.
Practical Strategies
to Reach the Full Range of Students
Asilomar, December 7, 2024
People learn at different rates: all classes are heterogeneous. At the California Math Council conference, I will share manageable ways to differentiate by time, not content, in order to both challenge and support every student: constant forward motion, eternal review, and extended exposure. I hope to see you there!
Much of the talk will be based on ideas from my 43 years in the classroom, and from my new book, There Is No One Way to Teach Math. The book, co-written with Robin Pemantle, covers just about every aspect of our job: pedagogical principles, classroom implementation, and departmental/school context. Read about it on my blog: 1 | 2.
MathEducation.page
Visit my website!
Stats
- In the last three months, these were the most-visited pages on the site:
- Virtual Grid Paper
- Virtual Pentominoes
- Geometry Labs (free book) *
- Algebra: Themes, Tools, Concepts (free book) *
- Geometric Puzzles *
- Virtual Geoboard
- For a Tool-Rich Pedagogy *
- Virtual Base Ten Blocks
- Pentominoes *
- Function Diagrams *
- Supertangrams *
- Pattern Blocks *
- Kinesthetics *
- Fractions
Tweaks and Updates
- Since the last issue of this newsletter, I tweaked and updated these pages (partial list):
- Algebra Manipulatives
- There Is No One Way
- Pent
- For Math Circles *
- Symmetry *
- Math Education Consulting
- Space
- Electronic Graphing *
- Manipulatives *
- Some Rights Reserved
- Pentomino Books
- Teaching *
- Tangrams *
- Games *
Navigating the Site
There are many excellent one-idea math education websites, but mine is not one of them. The above links only account for perhaps 10% of the articles, curricular materials, and applets I share. Those cover many, many topics of the grades 6-12 math curriculum, some material suitable for grades K-5, much "enrichment" content, and my thoughts about pedagogy. A consequence of this wealth of content is that it may be difficult to find what you're looking for.
Here are some ways to navigate the site:
- Search (no ads!)
- Annotated Site Map (an incomplete guide)
- Site Map by Course and Grade Level (an incomplete list)
- Compact/Comprehensive Site Index (everything, hopefully!)
- Directories (dozens of launch pages)
All those options are available in the navigation bar at the top and bottom of most pages on the site. You should also try clicking the tiny icons at the left and right of that bar. Those are links for:
And two more choices:
- Many links in this newsletter are to pages which in turn will connect you to relevant pages on the site. They are marked with asterisks. *
- My new book, There Is No One Way to Teach Math, includes many links to the site. (And many other sites. Those links may be a reason to get the ebook version?)
