For Math
Teachers
My
Pearson Textbooks
My musings about
mathematics and the teaching of
mathematics.
Here
are some of the presentations/handouts I
gave at AMATYC, CMC3-North, and
CMC3-South.
1.
Are We Speaking the Same Language? (Presented at
CMC3 and AMATYC)
This discussion is
about mathematics dictionaries and
their similarities and differences.
The most surprising is the
differences. It turns out that not
all math terms are defined the same.
Also, is it too late to invent new
terms?
This is a pdf of my PowerPoint
presentation at the CMC3-South Spring
2010 Conference.
Are
We Speaking the Same Language?
Here is a link to a
web page that has, itself, links to
many on-line math dictionaries and
glossaries.
A
list of On-line Mathematical
Dictionaries
Here is a link to a
web page that shows the earliest
known uses of many mathematical
terms.
Earliest
Known Uses of Mathematical Terms
2.
Developing the Quadratic Formula (Presented at AMATYC and CMC3)
Here, I show a
variety of ways to develop the
formula, including a graphical method
I developed. The explanation of the
graphical method first develops the
graphing of a parabola and its
various features.
I challenged myself
to "discover" the graphical
approach after pondering the
question, "Is it possible to
develop the formula without ever
having to complete the square?"
I believe that my graphical approach
does exactly that.
Also, two
"ancient" methods are
shown, the Babylonian method and a
geometric method. The Babylonian
method actually develops a Quadratic
Formula, whereas the geometric method
solves a quadratic equation.
A. The Traditional Approach
B. The Babylonian Approach
C. The Geometric Approach
D. The Graphical Approach
3. The Order of Operations (Presented at AMATYC and CMC3,
along with Mathematical Tidbits)
I
contend that the order of operations
used in arithmetic, algebra, etc. is
not an arbitrary order to which
mathematicians the world over decided
to agree. I contend that the order of
operations must be the way
it is.
Here
is my position paper on The Order of
Operations: Math or Myth
4. Mathematical Tidbits
Here
are some mathematical tidbit that may
interest you. I presented these as
handouts at the AMATYC Conference in
San Diego, November 13, 2005.
A. Math Tidbits Some of
these are related to the Order of
Operations handout.
B. Dividing
Fraction Why we
invert and multiply.
C. Divisibility
Rules A list of
the divisibility rules for 1 through
11.
D. Divisibility
Rule for 7 A thorough
look a the divisibility rule for 7.
In this paper, I prove that the rule
works 100% of the time. I also show
the divisibility rule for 13 and show
how you can develop divisibility
rules for 17 and 37, and a new rule
for 11!
5. Math to Go: Podcasting
Lessons
A. Podcasting
Presentation Handout.doc at AMATYC
November, 2007
B. Practice Streaming Video-1 (brief clip,
1:00 in length)
C. Practice Streaming Video-2 (brief clip,
1:26 in length)
D. Factoring Trinomials Video (full clip,
28:24 in length)
Contact
me at bob.prior@rcc.edu
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