Last Saturday, I attended an Escape from the Textbook! meeting. As always, it was stimulating. Here are some notes.Carlos Cabana talked about the special role of tools in a student-centered pedagogy. Used properly, they allow us to reverse questions and get at big ideas. This is in contrast to the shallow use of tools which… Continue reading Escape! meeting notes 1 — tools, backward design
Tag: Algebra
Interview
I was interviewed by MathMirror.org about a variety of math education topics.You can watch the videos (3 parts, 4 to 6 minutes each) on their Perspective #6 page.On the same site is a quite interesting article by Tom Murray about the demise of small math education publishers. --Henri
Lab Gear availability
Apparently Lab Gear is gradually running out, and will soon be "out of print", or whatever the appropriate phrase is for plastic manipulatives. So if you want to get more blocks, now is the time. Go to the McGraw-Hill site.I'll be looking for another publisher, but who knows if I'll find one.--HenriPS: If you need… Continue reading Lab Gear availability
Sense-Making and Algebra 2
I gave a talk at the NCTM Institute on Reasoning and Sense-Making. The topic was "Making Sense in Algebra 2." It was an updated version of an old talk titled "Seeking Depth in Algebra 2". For the occasion, I updated the Algebra 2 page on my site. In particular, I posted the new version of… Continue reading Sense-Making and Algebra 2
My Summer Plans
Where you can find me this summer:June 20-22: Independent Curriculum Group conference, San FranciscoBuilding an Innovative Curriculum: Strategies for Teachers, Departments, and Schools (Scroll down until you see this text)I'll participate, and perhaps present something on teacher collaboration. June 22-24: Center for Innovative Teaching, San FranciscoIntegrated Technology Symposium 2011 for School Leaders: Digital Tools & Practices… Continue reading My Summer Plans
Algebra Lab: Middle School
Normally, you should be able to get the Algebra Lab: Middle School binder here.If that doesn't work, get in touch with me and I'll find a way to get it to you.--Henri
"Add till it’s plaid"
I’ve expanded this post into two lessons, and shared them on my website, along with videos and GeoGebra files. Check it out! -- Henri --------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have a way to graph ax+by=c electronically, here is a fun way to teach solving systems of equations by linear combination.Say you want to solveGraph the two equations:The… Continue reading "Add till it’s plaid"
Online Presentation
My online presentation about Escape from the Textbook! was recorded. You can be watch / listen to it by going tohttp://mathfuture.wikispaces.com/EscapeFromTheTextbookIn addition to introducing the Escape! concept and community, I gave as an example my approach to teaching arithmetic and geometric sequences (starting with iterating linear functions,) and series (emphasizing algorithms over formulas.) You can… Continue reading Online Presentation
My MA thesis
A few weeks ago, I attended a wonderful talk about the real projective plane by Bruce Cohen and David Sklar. This reminded me that 40 years ago, or so, I wrote an MA thesis at UC Berkeley on Topics in finite projective geometry. I just scanned it and uploaded it to my Web site on… Continue reading My MA thesis
History of Function Diagrams
A correspondent asks:I am curious if you "invented" the function diagrams, or if you know anything about the history of where they come from.I did not invent them, but I did help to spread them (a little) into secondary education. See my ideas on how to use function diagrams in secondary school, including an overview,… Continue reading History of Function Diagrams
Henri's Math Education Blog 