This article explores some entertaining examples of mathematical thinking in working with the alphabet. They involve thinking linearly, sequentially, in order, and logically, and require problem solving--mathematical thinking. The article discusses creatively exploring the alphabet through alphabet books and creating alternative alphabet lists.

This paper seeks to integrate a scholarship of "ritual" with a scholarship of "improvisation" and relate the intersection thereof with mathematics teaching and learning and with mathematics education research. Drawing on their experiences as classroom teachers, as practicing improvisers, and as current education researchers,…

The authors encourage consideration of the where mathematics learning takes place. They found that taking students outside engaged them with learning how to add and subtract integers and translate linear graphs.

In this paper I discuss the possibilities for exploring the hundred chart kinesthetically with elementary preservice teachers using a life-size hundred chart--an innovative tool, homemade from a shower curtain--to build quantity sense. Preservice teachers explored creative approaches to teach mathematics using the life-size hundred chart and…

One way to recognize how mathematical lessons can be stimulating for children is to interpret them as stories. If mathematical lessons follow a structure similar to that of a story, they can build anticipation, create surprise, and even generate intrigue (Egan 1988). To support the design of mathematical lessons with these types of aesthetic…

In this paper, we present a novel approach to defining, teaching, and assessing creativity by examining its origins and delineating the processes involved. The rationale for introducing this framework developed from studying existing thinking and questioning the current metrics for measuring creativity, which we posit are unfit for purpose. We…

Drawing on conceptual resources that underpin arts integration, drama-based and embodied teaching approaches, and embodied mathematical cognition, the authors developed a fresh professional learning model for teachers to use with their mathematics classes. This article discusses how "Creative and Body-based Learning" (CBL), the authors'…

In this article, Sarah Currier, a math specialist at Elizabeth Hall International School in Minnesota, describes how she used origami in a deliberate manner to teach content. She shares how she uses paper folding to teach mathematical concepts, reinforce vocabulary, and as a problem-solving model. She also offers ideas for using origami in other…

In elementary school, the use of repetitive songs to help children remember concepts is commonplace and is usually very effective. Unfortunately for many students, this strategy is generally not used in later grades. A group of mathematics teachers at Westerville South High School in Westerville, Ohio, have taken this approach to a new creative…

When thinking about student reasoning and sense making, teachers must consider the nature of tasks given to students along with how to plan to use the tasks in the classroom. Students should be presented with tasks in a way that encourages them to draw connections between algebraic and geometric concepts. This article focuses on the idea that it…

Regular hexaflexagons mysteriously change faces as you pinch flex them. This paper describes a different flex, the V-flex, which allows the hexahexaflexagon (with only 9 faces under the pinch flex) to have 3420 faces. The article goes on to explain the classification of triangle orientations in a hexaflexagon and gives an example of the…

What better way to interest students in mathematics than using a Super Bowl® commercial? A Prudential® insurance commercial aired during the Super Bowl in 2013 was the impetus for this lesson (see it here on You-Tube™: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=IsNiKGMSHUQ). In the commercial, four hundred people were polled on "How Old Is the Oldest…

Designed for a broad audience, including educators, camp directors, afterschool coordinators, and preservice teachers, this investigation aims to help individuals experience mathematics in unconventional and exciting ways by engaging them in the physical activity of building geometric shapes using ropes. Through this engagement, the author…

To date, the fastest Olympic sprinter is Usain Bolt, who ran 200 m in 19.19 seconds. Would any other animal species on the planet have a chance of beating this man in a race? Children find this kind of question intriguing, and introducing a topic like this is a great way to make biology and mathematics fun. It provides a more practical application…

A key characteristic of successful mathematics teachers is that they are able to provide varied activities that promote student learning and assessment. Web 2.0 applications can provide an assortment of tools to help produce creative activities. A Web 2.0 tool enables the student to enter data and create multimedia products using text, graphics,…