This article presents a reflection on a teaching experience involving the use of the Brügner tangram, an interesting but little-known manipulative material. It details an activity conducted as part of an undergraduate mathematics education course for prospective primary school teachers. The main objective of this paper is to present the…

In this paper, we provide an overall perspective on the teaching and learning of discrete mathematics. Our aim is to highlight what research has been conducted in this area and to connect it to existing research ideas for future work. We begin by characterizing discrete mathematics and its role in the school curriculum, highlighting themes,…

The Tower of Hanoi is an old, popular, and engaging puzzle. It is an exceptional puzzle too considering how effective it can be in engendering multiple valuable outcomes when used as a tool for learning. One of the fundamental goals of mathematics teacher preparation is to enable the prospective teacher to develop mathematical habits of mind and…

The rapid growth of digital technology, including the worldwide adoption of mobile and embedded computers, places new demands on K-grade 12 educators and their students. Young people should have an opportunity to learn the technical knowledge of computer science (e.g., computer programming, mathematical logic, and discrete mathematics) in order to…

Activities described for using zucchini to teach measurement include: guessing, graphing, and measuring length and weight; comparing sizes and shapes; and puzzles. (MP)

We present a card trick that can be used to review or teach a variety of topics in discrete mathematics. We address many subjects, including permutations, combinations, functions, graphs, depth first search, the pigeonhole principle, greedy algorithms, and concepts from number theory. Moreover, the trick motivates the use of computers in…

Describes a simulation using dice-tossing students in a population cluster to model the growth of cancer cells. This growth is recorded in a scatterplot and compared to an exponential function graph. (KHR)