Novelist Nicholson Baker wrote a cover story on "The Case Against Algebra II" for Harper's in 2013. More recently, political science professor Andrew Hacker wrote a book (The Math Myth) challenging Algebra 2 and its sequels. Some day, I may respond to their arguments, but I am addressing this post to the math teachers who… Continue reading In Defense of Algebra 2
Tag: Algebra
Making a Vector in Desmos
A couple of years ago, during a workshop on transformational geometry, a participant objected when I used and recommended GeoGebra and not Desmos. Her main argument was that students love Desmos. Fair enough, but that does not make up for the fact that Desmos is mostly about graphing, while GeoGebra includes the many basic and not-so-basic… Continue reading Making a Vector in Desmos
Hoping to see you soon!
Here is a list of my upcoming appearances, ranging from 20 minutes to a full week. Perhaps you can attend one of them!NCTM National Meeting in San FranciscoA Hands-on Approach to Operations and Equivalent Expressions Thursday 14 April, 8:00-9:15am. 3022 Moscone WestThis is a hands-on Lab Gear workshop aimed at grades 6 to 8. The… Continue reading Hoping to see you soon!
Factoring a Sum of Cubes
A correspondent who teaches math to 9th graders writes:I was looking at factoring the sum and difference of two cubes and was wondering if you have any input as to how to teach it for true understanding.I have not taught this topic much, if at all, in Algebra 1, as it strikes me as rather… Continue reading Factoring a Sum of Cubes
Visual Algebra
I will be teaching two instances of my Visual Algebra workshop this summer: grades 7-11, June 27-30, in Oakland; and grades 6-9, July 25-27, in Saint Louis. (More info). This is probably the topic I have presented the most often in the last 25 years.To many students, not to mention teachers, parents, and administrators, algebra… Continue reading Visual Algebra
Animated Demonstrations
New on my Web site:→ Animated slides on the Lab Gear model for signed number arithmetic.Note that for each operation, the model is based on what students already know. For addition, you put down the first number, then the second number, and finally count. For subtraction, you put down the first number, take away the… Continue reading Animated Demonstrations
Coding for All?
Some time ago, I argued that computer programming is a literacy, because it enhances learning in other disciplines, especially math. It is not nearly as important as reading and writing, which apply to all subjects, or as math, which applies to all sciences. But given the place of the computer in modern life, and the… Continue reading Coding for All?
Summer Workshop Dates 2016
I'll be offering four workshops for math teachers this summer. At the Head-Royce School in Oakland, CA:June 27-30: Visual Algebra (grades 7-11)July 1: Seeking Depth in Algebra 2At the Principia School in Saint Louis, MO:July 25-27: Visual Algebra (grades 6-9)July 28-29: No Limits! (Algebra 2-Precalculus)The grades 6-9 version of Visual Algebra is a subset of… Continue reading Summer Workshop Dates 2016
New Lab Gear Books
As I announced in the November issue of my newsletter, the new Lab Gear books are out, and can be ordered from Didax: Algebra Lab Gear: Basic Algebra, and Algebra Lab Gear: Algebra 1.The Lab Gear is a comprehensive manipulative environment I created for the teaching and learning of algebra. I devote a fair amount… Continue reading New Lab Gear Books
Northern California December Events
I suspect that some readers of this blog do not subscribe to my newsletter, so I will use this post and the next to let you know about some news in my math education life. If you did get the November issue of the newsletter, you might read on anyway, as I will be going… Continue reading Northern California December Events
Henri's Math Education Blog 