About twenty years ago, along with Anita Wah, I wrote "A New Algebra", a paper for the Journal of Mathematical Behavior (JMB). It was an attempt to address what I saw as a crucial issue in secondary math education: on the one hand, the traditional Algebra 1 course was the gateway to any further work… Continue reading "A New Algebra"
Tag: Manipulatives
Visual Algebra: Sharing
I am teaching a Visual Algebra workshop in San Francisco, June 17-19.Support materials are on the workshop participants' Web site.Over the past couple of decades, there has been a trend to teach algebra to younger and younger students. That could actually be a good thing. But unfortunately, that has been interpreted as teaching the traditional… Continue reading Visual Algebra: Sharing
Working with Pentominoes
Much of this information is outdated. See an updated post here. Didax just published my book Working with Pentominoes. It is geared to grades 4-8, though I use some of the content in high school. Pentominoes are a geometric puzzle, a staple of recreational mathematics. This is what they look like: You can read… Continue reading Working with Pentominoes
All of high school math in one year?
In my previous post, I responded to Michael Thayer's comments about my Mathematics Overview. In this post I will respond to Mike's proposal for a one-year course to replace all of high school math.Mike and I largely agree about the failings and shortcomings of traditional curriculum and pedagogy, but I don't agree with his solution.… Continue reading All of high school math in one year?
More on the Mathematics Overview
In his Hyperbolic Guitars blog, Michael Thayer writes:I've been mulling over the one-year course idea some more. And what to my wondering eyes did appear (thank you, @tieandjeans) but this really spectacularly well-thought-out and well-organized course outline created by Henri Picciotto. It's got everything, really, that I'd love to see in the course I'd proposed, and it… Continue reading More on the Mathematics Overview
Mathematics Overview
I have written an outline of one possible version of the foundational topics of secondary school math, covering key concepts usually taught in grades 7 to 10. The idea was to write a one-year review course for seniors who have had trouble with math up to that point, but still intend to go to a… Continue reading Mathematics Overview
Manipulatives update
As larger publishers swallow smaller ones, educational materials with a smaller market tend to be removed from the market. As an author, I have been a victim of this economic reality for quite some time now. However today I have some good news on that front.My book Geometry Labs was originally published by Key Curriculum… Continue reading Manipulatives update
Integrating y=x^2
I added a new page to my Web site. It's a visual proof that the integral of y=x2 from 0 to b is indeed b3/3.Some interesting things about this proof:It was discovered by Jacob Regenstein, a high school student.It does not involve any algebraic manipulation.It shows a dramatic example of how integration increases the degree… Continue reading Integrating y=x^2
The third dimension!
This is another post about sessions I attended last weekend at the Asilomar Northern California CMC conference. (To read the whole set, start here.)Kevin Rees presented two variations on a classic volume optimization problem. In the traditional problem, you start with a square piece of cardboard, cut off congruent squares at the four corners, and… Continue reading The third dimension!
Workshops in New York in August
I will be leading two summer workshops for teachers in New York City, Aug 13-17.The early-bird registration discount (15% off) is being extended to June 25.VISUAL ALGEBRAI have offered this 3-day workshop, and various parts of it, many, many times. It's about intelligent use of manipulatives and technology, plus a parallel axes representation. Also: three… Continue reading Workshops in New York in August
Henri's Math Education Blog 