In the period following the publication of Algebra: Themes, Tools, Concepts, we started asking our Math 1 students to write and illustrate a short report or poster, tying in four representations of a trinomial in the form x^2+bx+c. (Math 1 is Urban School's Math Department's version of Algebra 1, sort of.) I just posted a… Continue reading The Quadratic Formula
Tag: Technology
Perplexity
On January 11, Internet celebrity and Stanford grad student Dan Meyer worked with the Math Dept at the Urban School, plus a handful of members of Escape from the Textbook! He presented his thoughts about how to design and present modeling problems, but in fact his ideas have broader applicability.I had already seen Dan's TED… Continue reading Perplexity
Dan Meyer live stream
The Center for Innovative Teaching is hosting two events with Dan Meyer on January 11 at the Urban School of San Francisco. Both events are sold out, but they will be streamed live (and archived) at: http://www.livestream.com/urbanschoolFrom 12:00 noon to 2:30 (Pacific Time), Dan will be working with the Urban School Math Dept and a… Continue reading Dan Meyer live stream
Escape! meeting notes 1 — tools, backward design
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
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
"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 meeting about Escape from the Textbook!
You are invited to an open online meeting of the "Escape from the Textbook!" community, conducted as a part of the Math Future weekly series. You can chat with community members, meet new colleagues, and brainstorm future live meetings for the group.My plan as it stands now is to start by explaining the idea behind… Continue reading Online meeting about Escape from the Textbook!
Op ed in The Mathematics Teacher
I had an op ed ("Soundoff") published in the November 2010 issue of The Mathematics Teacher, a special issue on technology. ( I suspect it is only available on line to members of the National Council of Teachers of Math.) The piece is a substantially expanded version of my blog posts about why I use… Continue reading Op ed in The Mathematics Teacher
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 