Learner centred design methods highlight the importance of involving the stakeholders of the learning process (learners, teachers, educational researchers) at all stages of the design of educational applications and of refining the design through an iterative prototyping process. These methods have been used successfully when designing systems…

Doubling the Number of college graduates in Kentucky by 2020 will be challenging, but it is a worthy and achievable goal, and will make a real difference in the lives and livelihoods of Kentuckians. This report, a biennial publication of the Council on Postsecondary Education, shows how every county in the state can contribute toward this goal and…

In this paper, we give a detailed account of the design principles and construction of activities designed for learning about the relationships between position, velocity and acceleration, and corresponding kinematics graphs. Our approach is model-based, that is, it focuses attention on the idea that students constructed their own models--in the…

Children's mathematical misconceptions very often arise as a result of poor communication. This practical and innovative book presents a range of creative strategies to help teachers communicate effectively in the mathematics classroom, offering some new ways of presenting the fundamental concepts and principles of mathematics, and clearly…

This article describes a lesson unit in which students constructed tables and graphs to represent the growth of different trees. Students then compared the graphs to develop an understanding of slope.

Many teachers bring caterpillars into their class for their students to see the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly. This is exciting and educational, but more can be done using Monarchs across the curriculum. This article describes an integrated butterfly unit for students in grades four to six that starts with identifying the Monarch…

The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) looked at elementary school math curricula designed to promote math knowledge and skills among elementary school students (average ages 5 to 10 years). Curricula included in this review are replicable, materials-based instructional programs that cover one or more of the following content areas: numbers,…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the TI-81 Graphics Calculator as an instructional tool on college algebra students' conceptual and procedural achievements involving functions and graphs and on the students' attitudes toward mathematics. The study was a posttest-only, equivalent control group design conducted with students…

The normal curve has long been important in statistics. Most interval variables yield normal or quasi-normal distributions when data are collected from large samples, and the normal "Z" distribution is also used as a test statistic (e.g., to test differences between two means when sample size is large, since "t" approaches…

Using a computer equipped with a plotter, graphs of linear equations and trigonometric identities can be produced. Examination of these graphs can aid in teaching solution of equations. (SD)

Two approaches to the teaching of logarithms are described. One is essentially algebraic while the other involves integration. (SD)

A dialogue between a student and a teacher is presented. The topic is the absolute value function. The discussion ranges from elementary algebraic properties to deeper properties of the function. (SD)

Similarity of parabolas and other conic sections is discussed. The theorem "Any two parabolas are similar" is deduced. (SD)

Using a set of worksheets, students will discover and apply Euler's formula regarding connected planar graphs and play and analyze the game of Sprouts. One sheet leads to the discovery of Euler's formula; another concerns traversability of a graph; another gives an example and a game involving these ideas. (Author/KM)