This article, a play designed around an imaginary conversation between geometric objects, summarizes various approaches to visualizing a tesseract (a.k.a. hypercube--a four-dimensional analog of a cube).

The patterns of handmade quilts made in southern United States are utilized for studying the symmetries of the plane and transformational geometry. Quilts are made without sewing and then from the same block, students can make quilts with different wallpaper patterns by using various combinations of transformations and through this geometrical…

The geometry of drops hanging on a circular capillary can be determined by numerically solving a dimensionless differential equation that is independent on any material properties, which enables one to follow the change of the height, surface area, and contact angle of drops hanging on a particular capillary. The results show that the application…

One of the most useful ways to enhance collaboration is to create scenarios where learners are able to interact more effectively. Nevertheless, the design of pedagogically sound and well-thought-out collaborative learning scenarios is a complex issue. This is due to the context of group learning where the synergy among learners' interactions…

Previous work has identified four areas of difficulty that students seem to have with the topic of similarity: (1) understanding the definition of similarity; (2) proportional reasoning; (3) dimensional growth relationships; and (4) correspondences in right triangle similarity. This paper reports the results of an investigation into high school…

In California, the typical college-prep course sequence in math includes Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II. Students advance through these courses at different rates. A number of students proceed at a quick pace, with some completing Algebra II by the end of 10th grade and a few even earlier. At the other end of the spectrum, some students…

When given opportunities to explore mathematics, make conjectures, and write about what they have discovered, students gain a deeper understanding of this fascinating subject. In this article, the author describes her successful Geometry Portfolio class. In addition to traditional student work, the author frequently added short essay questions or…

This article presents a case study in which researcher-practitioner collaboration took place to promote effective use of technology in an urban elementary school mathematics classroom. Data were primarily gathered through classroom observations and interviews. The aim of this study was twofold. First, to increase our understanding of the effects…

The incenter, orthocenter, and centroid of a triangle are discussed in a sequence which students knowing ratio and proportion can understand. (SD)

This is one in a series of SMSG supplementary and enrichment pamphlets for high school students. This series is designed to make material for the study of topics of special interest to students readily accessible in classroom quantity. Topics covered include graphs, slope, distance, mid-point, proof, equations, and circles. (MP)

This is part three of a three-part manual for teachers using SMSG junior high school text materials. Each chapter contains an introduction and a collection of sample test questions. Each section contains a discussion related to the topic at hand and answers to all the exercises. Chapter topics include: (1) non-metric geometry; (2) volumes and…

Construction of colorful braided polyhedra can provide upper elementary students with enjoyable geometric experiences. (SD)

A method of bisecting an angle by construction of an isosceles triangle and its axis of symmetry is described. (SD)

The third session of IT@EDU98 consisted of five papers on educational software and was chaired by Tran Van Hao (University of Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam). "Courseware Engineering" (Nguyen Thanh Son, Ngo Ngoc Bao Tran, Quan Thanh Tho, Nguyen Hong Lam) briefly describes the use of courseware. "Machine Discovery Theorems in Geometry: A…

This column contains brief notes on graphing in three dimensions; patterns in Pascal's triangle; plotting graphs by computer; and an application of the hypocycloid. (MM)