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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Changes And Deltas, Jim Wolper Jul 2020

Changes And Deltas, Jim Wolper

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Lecturing about Mathematics is like playing Jazz.


Mathematics Out Of Nothing: Talking About Powerful Mathematical Ideas With Children, Matthew Oldridge Jul 2019

Mathematics Out Of Nothing: Talking About Powerful Mathematical Ideas With Children, Matthew Oldridge

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Parents and educators have powerful opportunities to introduce children to big mathematical ideas, when those ideas become necessary. Children are capable and curious. They don’t need to be sheltered from big mathematical ideas. Bring out mathematical ideas when kids are ready, or when they are needed. This article describes one such instance, when I helped my six-year-old son move beyond zero in the negative direction when subtracting.


The Efficacy Of Mathematics Education, Eric Geimer Feb 2014

The Efficacy Of Mathematics Education, Eric Geimer

The STEAM Journal

Evidence supports the notion that mathematics education in the United States is inadequate. There is also evidence that mathematics education deficiencies extend internationally. The worldwide mathematics education deficit appears large enough that improving student performance in this educational problem area could yield great economic benefit. To improve the efficacy of mathematics education, education’s root problems must first be understood. Often supposed educational root problems are considered and contrasted against potential deficiencies of mathematics methodologies and curricula that are based on mainstream educational philosophies. The educational philosophies utilized to form early-grade mathematics methodologies and related curricula are judged to be the …


Imagine Math Day: Encouraging Secondary School Students And Teachers To Engage In Authentic Mathematical Discovery, Darryl H. Yong, Michael E. Orrison Jr. Aug 2008

Imagine Math Day: Encouraging Secondary School Students And Teachers To Engage In Authentic Mathematical Discovery, Darryl H. Yong, Michael E. Orrison Jr.

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

Research mathematicians and school children experience mathematics in profoundly different ways. Ask a group of mathematicians what it means to “do mathematics” and you are likely to get a myriad of responses: mathematics involves analyzing and organizing patterns and relationships, reasoning and drawing conclusions about the world, or creating languages and tools to describe and solve important problems. Students of mathematics often report “doing mathematics” as performing calculations or following rules. It’s natural that they see mathematics as monolithic rather than an evolving, growing, socially constructed body of knowledge, because most mathematical training in primary and secondary schools consists of …


The Art Of Teaching Mathematics, Garikai Campbell, Jon T. Jacobsen, Aimee S A Johnson, Michael E. Orrison Jr. Jan 2008

The Art Of Teaching Mathematics, Garikai Campbell, Jon T. Jacobsen, Aimee S A Johnson, Michael E. Orrison Jr.

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

On June 10–12, 2007, Harvey Mudd College hosted A Conference on the Art of Teaching Mathematics. The conference brought together approximately thirty mathematicians from the Claremont Colleges, Denison, DePauw, Furman, Middlebury, Penn State, Swarthmore, and Vassar to explore the topic of teaching as an art. Assuming there is an element of artistic creativity in teaching mathematics, in what ways does it surface and what should we be doing to develop this creativity?


Teaching Time Savers: The Exam Practically Wrote Itself!, Michael E. Orrison Jr. Dec 2007

Teaching Time Savers: The Exam Practically Wrote Itself!, Michael E. Orrison Jr.

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

When I first started teaching, creating an exam for my upper division courses was a genuinely exciting process. The material felt fresh and relatively unexplored (at least by me), and I remember often feeling pleasantly overwhelmed with what seemed like a vast supply of intriguing and engrossing exam-ready problems. Crafting the perfect exam, one that was noticeably inviting, exceedingly fair, and unavoidably illuminating, was a real joy.


Teaching Time Savers: Style Points, Michael E. Orrison Jr. Aug 2006

Teaching Time Savers: Style Points, Michael E. Orrison Jr.

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

When I began as an assistant professor, I had a pretty good sense of how much time it would take for me to prepare for each class. After a few conversations with my new colleagues, I even had a good sense of how much time I should devote to tasks like office hours and committee work. Somewhere in the middle of grading my first exam, though, it became painfully clear that I had underestimated the amount of time I would need to grade exams!


Teaching Time Savers: A Recommendation For Recommendations, Michael E. Orrison Jr. May 2006

Teaching Time Savers: A Recommendation For Recommendations, Michael E. Orrison Jr.

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

I admit it — I enjoy writing recommendation letters for my students. I like
learning about their hopes and dreams, where they have been and where they want to go. A recommendation letter is an opportunity to remind myself how much my students can grow while they are in college, and how much I have grown as an instructor, advisor, and mentor.


Looking Beyond The Curriculum In Jamaica, Jon T. Jacobsen, Michael E. Orrison Jr. Dec 2005

Looking Beyond The Curriculum In Jamaica, Jon T. Jacobsen, Michael E. Orrison Jr.

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

In August 2004, we had the opportunity to travel to Jamaica to lead a pilot workshop for Jamaican high school math teachers. The workshop focused on the importance of mathematical context in the teaching of mathematics. It was sponsored by the Gibraltar Institute, a Jamaica-based nongovernmental organization led by Trevor Campbell (Pomona College) and Reginald Nugent (Cal State Pomona), Jamaica’s College of Agriculture, Science and Education, and Harvey Mudd College.