I am busy preparing for my summer workshops, so I'm blogging less and adding more stuff to my Web site.Here's a list of recent additions:- A new Geometric Construction page, including a whole unit with a teachers' guide, plus a GeoGebra page with tools limited to straightedge and compass construction. Also an applet / file… Continue reading New stuff on my Web site
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Big Fun!
In time for my summer workshops, I have a new page on complex numbers, featuring an explanation of the approach I recommend for teaching this topic, worksheets for Algebra 2 and beyond, and (big fun!) online games to introduce and practice complex number arithmetic.Over the decades, I created versions of these games in three education-oriented… Continue reading Big Fun!
Responses to my Common Core analysis
I have received excellent feedback about my analysis of the Common Core State Standards for high school math.E-mailed and spoken responses from my main hoped-for audience (high school math teachers) have almost without exception included a mention of having shared the paper with colleagues. For example:"I read your article about the Common Core on your… Continue reading Responses to my Common Core analysis
Astronomy and Geometric Construction
In the days preceding a recent lunar eclipse, my daughter saw an illustration that seemed to show that the Moon's diameter was just about equal to the width of the penumbra. She conjectured that if that were true, it may be because of the fact that the apparent diameter of the Moon (as seen from… Continue reading Astronomy and Geometric Construction
Completing the Square
New animation: a geometric representation of completing the square. In this post, I present one way to use it as part of an algebra curriculum.Many secondary school teachers figure that the derivation of the quadratic formula by completing the square can be shown to students, but have little hope of any understanding. They… Continue reading Completing the Square
Reasonable Acceleration
In previous posts, I expressed my concern about hyper-acceleration, the foisting of ever more advanced math topics on ever younger students. After illustrating some of the problems with that trend, I suggested a strategy for teachers to resist it. In this final post in the series, I will unpack one ingredient in that strategy: reasonable… Continue reading Reasonable Acceleration
Deeper, Not Faster
Hyper-acceleration
In some schools and communities teachers face a tremendous push for hyper-acceleration of certain students. As I mentioned in my previous post the pressure comes largely from parents, but they are often supported by students and administrators. Many parents believe that hyper-acceleration will help their child's college applications. Many students' self-image is intimately related to… Continue reading Hyper-acceleration
Acceleration
This is the first of a series of posts on the topic of acceleration. I have combined them and edited them into one article on my Web site. Read it there!I remember one student who managed to take my Geometry class in 9th grade even though (unbeknownst to me) she had already taken a traditional… Continue reading Acceleration
the function dance!
A friend on Google+ posted this image:<a href="data:<img alt="" border="0" src="data:I have often performed "the cubic dance" (see above!) for my students. I've also often asked them to "air graph" various functions.One complication is the fact that left and right are reversed for the person watching you, and while I try to perform things "backwards"… Continue reading the function dance!
Henri's Math Education Blog 