How can teachers learn what they need to know? Every community of educators, regardless of field or specialization, can benefit from being well informed about current research findings. A considerable amount of mathematics education research exists to inform teachers and administrators about teaching and learning mathematics. Research can show…

If one rolls a coin across a chessboard and it comes to rest on the board, what is the probability that it covers some corner of one of the grid squares? The online magazine "Plus" (2004) posed this problem for students to solve. It is a useful problem for several reasons: it introduces the idea of probability in a continuous sample space, it has…

The possibility of non-transitivity of preference choices is discussed. One example each from voting and from sports demonstrate some conditions where transitivity does not hold. Suggestions are made for using this type of problem in the classroom. (LS)

A realistic problem is presented, computing the probability of winning a sports playoff series if the probability if winning a single game is known. Only simple permutation formulas and some basic logic are required to solve the problem. Two computer programs and a discussion of solution methods are included. (MNS)

Suggestions for five activities are presented. They include: ideas for several student problem-solving projects; preparing a flowsheet and program for 10 coin and dice games; using word processor formatting commands to create word designs; creating sounds; and writing a program to print out sums indefinitely. (JN)

This report considers the reasoning of sixth grade students as they explore problem tasks concerning the fairness of dice games. The particular focus is the students' interactions, verbal and non-verbal, as they build and justify representations that extend their basic understanding of number combinations in order to model the outcome set of a…

This article points out that many students, even of college age, lack familiarity with and confidence about probability problems. Several examples are given, including a "fair game" situation which would probably cause many readers some initial concern. (LS)

This article presents problems to challenge students over and above the standard curriculum problems assigned at a Course I level. Every additional problem in the article can be solved using only the tools provided by Course I. (AIM)

Describes a classroom problem of probability as follows: How many people do you need in a group to ensure that the probability of at least two of them having the same birthday is greater than one-half? Answer: 23. The probability principles needed are simple enough to be accessible to advanced high school students. (PVD)

Presents activities that allow primary grade students to develop specific thinking strategies for basic facts such as counting on, using doubles, and making 10 in problem-solving settings. Discusses other topics such as probability, spatial sense, and money. Offers rich opportunities for reasoning and communication. (ASK)

Reports on (n=11) student attempts at 3 combinatorial questions focusing mainly on 3 aspects of strategy: (1) listing; (2) subdivision into cases; and (3) use or misuse of 4 standard formulas. (MKR)

This article describes a project in which certain key concepts in probability were explored using graphics calculators with year 10 students. The lessons were conducted in the regular classroom where students were provided with a Casio CFX 9850 GB PLUS graphics calculator with which they were familiar from year 9. The participants in the…

As part of a discussion on Monte Carlo methods, which outlines how to use probability expectations to approximate the value of a definite integral. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate on this technique and then to show several examples using visual basic as a programming tool. It is an interesting method because it combines two branches of…