In this article, Strayer and Matuszewski present a six-phase strategy that teachers can use to help students develop a conceptual understanding of inferential hypothesis testing through simulation. As Strayer and Matuszewski discuss the strategy, they describe each phase in general, explain how they implemented the phase while teaching their…

Finding and designing tasks that allow for students to make connections among mathematical ideas is important for mathematics educators. One such task, which affords students the opportunity to make connections and engage with significant mathematical ideas through a variety of problem-solving approaches, is described in this article. Three…

Adopting a multitiered design-based research perspective, this study examines pre-service secondary mathematics teachers' developing conceptions about (a) the nature of mathematical modeling in simulations of "real life" problem solving, and (b) pedagogical principles and strategies needed to teach mathematics through modeling. Unlike…

This paper presents a study about using scientific simulations to enhance the process of mathematical modelling. The main component of the study is a lesson whose major objective is to have students mathematise a trajectory of a projected object and then apply the model to formulate other trajectories by using the properties of function…

"Use of mathematical representations to model and interpret physical phenomena and solve problems is one of the major teaching objectives in high school math curriculum" [National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics", NCTM, Reston, VA, 2000]. Commonly used pre-calculus textbooks provide a…

This document presents the proceedings of the 20th Annual Research Forum held June 25, 2015, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Included are the following 21 action research papers: (1) History Lives! The Use of Simulations in a High School Social Studies Classroom (Lydia Adkins); (2) Using Francophone Music in the High…

A diffusion simulation is described in which the dispersion of potato beetles in a given problem is traced on hexagonal grids. (MNS)

A mathematical model of a soccer-league competition results is set up and investigated using simple randomization techniques. The hypothesis that winning the league championship was purely luck was statistically tested. (JP)

A programing language called DYNAMO, developed especially for writing simulation models, is promoted. Details of six, self-teaching curriculum packages recently developed for simulation-oriented instruction are provided. (MP)

Arguing that operations research is not as difficult and forbidding as its reputation implies, and that many problems lend themselves to analysis using common sense, the author provides examples which might be used in a secondary school classroom. (SD)

The game of roulette is analyzed. (SD)

An activity sequence is described. Several aspects of a population problem are developed using isoperimetric graph paper and symmetry principles to derive general rules. (SD)

Deciding, with outline maps, what highway exits to use to reach various towns most speedily is the problem presented. The simulation is geometric, focusing on loci. (MNS)

Three probability problems designed to challenge students are presented: Liars and Diamonds, Heads Wins, and Random Walks. Other statistic problems are suggested that could involve computer simulations. (MNS)

The mathematics for a lunar shuttle landing simulation is discussed using equations, charts and tables. (MP)