I'll be traveling a lot this month. Here's the plan, should you want to say hello.New York City April 5, 4:30pm: I will present Geometric Puzzles at the Museum of Math Teachers’ Circle. Geometric puzzles are accessible to solvers of all ages, but they can also challenge even the most tenacious of solvers. Join math education author… Continue reading April Travels, May Webinar, Summer Workshops
Tag: ProfessionalDevelopment
Vocabulary
In my last post, I offered guidelines for sequencing math curriculum. The response I got on Twitter (and in one comment to the post) was quite positive. However, one point I made triggered some disagreement:Start with definitions? No! Most students find it difficult to understand a definition for something they have no experience with. It is more effective to start… Continue reading Vocabulary
Any Questions?
On the first weekend of December, the California Math Council held its annual meeting in Asilomar for the 60th time. (I attended for the 33rd time, and presented roughly the same talk I had presented in 1984.) Over the decades, the "must-attend" presenters have changed. Two of my favorites back in the day were Harold… Continue reading Any Questions?
Department as PLC
A PLC is a Professional Learning Community. In an ideal world, every math department is a PLC,but in reality there are some obstacles to that idea:not all schools give teachers time to dedicate to professional learningnot all teachers are interested in professional growthit is not clear what to do in a PLC, even if the… Continue reading Department as PLC
Puzzles for the Classroom
In my last post, I shared some generalities about puzzle creation. Today, I will zero in on the specifics of creating puzzles for the mathematics classroom. I will do this by way of analyzing some examples. Multiple PathsA characteristic of all classrooms is that they are constituted of students whose backgrounds and talents vary widely. … Continue reading Puzzles for the Classroom
Transformational Proof
Prior to the publication of the Common Core State Standards for Math (CCSSM), transformational geometry was rarely seen in geometry courses. It certainly was missing from the one I taught. Still, I have always been interested in this topic, and it provided the backbone of my "Geometry 2" class, a post-Algebra 2 elective which I… Continue reading Transformational Proof
Taxicab geometry
A few weeks ago, I led a workshop on taxicab geometry at the San Jose and Palo Alto Math Teacher Circles. Taxicab geometry is based on redefining distance between two points, with the assumption you can only move horizontally and vertically. So the taxicab distance from the origin to (2, 3) is 5, as you… Continue reading Taxicab geometry
Geoboard Problems for Teachers
At the San Francisco Math Teachers' Circle yesterday (March 4, 2017), we explored four "teacher-level" geoboard problems (All can be adapted for classroom use.) Here is a brief report, including some spoilers, I'm afraid. Pick's Formula It turns out that the area of a geoboard polygon can be figured out by counting the lattice points… Continue reading Geoboard Problems for Teachers
Geometry Boot Camp!
I will offer two workshops this summer (2017), at the Head-Royce School in Oakland, CA. Sign up for either or both! June 26-27: Hands-On Geometry (grades 6-10) June 28-30: Transformational Geometry (grades 8-11) If the times or locations don't work for you, I can offer a workshop for your school or district. Contact me directly.… Continue reading Geometry Boot Camp!
Time and Tide
This is my yearly report on the Asilomar conference of the California Math Council, Northern Section. Because I was presenting three times, I didn't end up attending as many sessions as I would have liked. As always at Asilomar, I enjoyed hanging out with my ex-colleagues, running into friends, and meeting the occasional fan of… Continue reading Time and Tide
Henri's Math Education Blog 