Smartphones and tablets are packed with sensors that allow us to take experimental data, essentially making them mobile physics labs. Apps exist that make it easy to capture and analyze data from these sensors, allowing users to study diverse phenomena such as free fall acceleration, the speed of sound,radioactivity, and many others. Commonly, the…

Among computational methods, DFT (density functional theory) and TD-DFT (time-dependent DFT) are widely used in research to describe, "inter alia," the optical properties of transition metal complexes. Inorganic/physical chemistry courses for undergraduate students treat such methods, but quite often only from the theoretical point of…

Students with disabilities often struggle with grade-level mathematics without appropriate support and accommodations. This study compared the performance of middle school students with disabilities on computational-based mathematics assessments when they had access to calculators and when they did not. Using a single-case ABAB design, data were…

Calculators are widely used in mathematics education, yet limited research examines the effects of calculators for students with mild intellectual disability. An alternating treatments design was used to study the effects of calculator types (i.e., scientific and graphing) on the mathematical performance (i.e., computation and word problems) of…

Like many commodities, the price of gasoline continues to rise, and these price changes are readily observed in gas stations' signage. Moreover, algebraic methods are well suited to model price change and answer the student's question. Over the course of one ninety-minute block or two forty-five-minute classes, students build functions…

"The Language of Mathematics in Science" is an ASE/Nuffield project aimed at supporting teachers of 11-16 science in the use of mathematical ideas in the science curriculum. Two publications have been produced. This article focuses on the first of these, "The Language of Mathematics in Science: A Guide for Teachers of 11-16…

The statistical output of interest to most elementary statistics students is the p-value, outputted in computer programs like SPSS, Minitab and SAS. Statistical decisions are sometimes made using these values without understanding the meaning or how these values are calculated. Most elementary statistics textbooks calculates p-values for z-tests…

Tossing a fair coin 1000 times can have an unexpected result. In the activities presented here, players keep track of the accumulated total for heads and tails after each toss, noting which player is in the lead or whether the players are tied. The winner is the player who was in the lead for the higher number of turns over the course of the game.…

If the prospective students of probability lack a background in mathematical proofs, hands-on classroom activities may work well to help them to learn to analyze problems correctly. For example, students may physically roll a die twice to count and compare the frequency of the sequences. Tools such as graphing calculators or Microsoft Excel®…

The purpose of this study was to use calculator-assisted instruction to help two fifth-grade low-achievers learn number sense. The research process includes three stages: (1) pre-test interview to detect what kinds of number sense the students did not have; (2) calculator-assisted instruction to help them develop number sense; and (3) post-test…

Teaching with technology is considered a necessity in the U.S. mathematics classroom. However, few studies have established explicit considerations to support technology-enhanced student achievement. The purpose of this study was to characterize the effectiveness of technology in the mathematics classroom by systematically reviewing meta-analytic…

In recent years, the topic of integrating history to mathematics lessons in teaching-learning processes has been frequently discussed among researchers. The main aim of this study is to present an example activity which enriched with history of mathematics and to take the views of students about teaching course in this way. In addition, to create…

One option for Extension professionals wishing to use free statistical software is to use online calculators, which are useful for common, simple analyses. A second option is to use a free computing environment capable of performing statistical analyses, like R-project. R-project is free, cross-platform, powerful, and respected, but may be…

This article summarizes research conducted on calculator block items from the 2007 fourth- and eighth-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress Main Mathematics. Calculator items from the assessment were categorized into two categories: problem-solving items and noncomputational mathematics concept items. A calculator has the potential to…

This note points out that realized compound yield (RCY) has a similar concept from capital budgeting; namely, modified internal rate of return. Recognizing this relationship makes it easier to teach the concept and allows students to easily compute RCY using a financial calculator.