From the assumption that matching a student's learning style with the learning method best suited for the student, it follows that developing courses that correlate learning method with learning style would be more successful for students. Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute (TVI) in New Mexico has attempted to provide students with more…

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two teaching strategies, namely, technology-assisted and traditional methods of teaching in undergraduate algebra classes. Fifty-eight second-year mathematics education undergraduate students in an algebra class were randomly divided in equal numbers into two groups. One group was…

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of a cognitive computer tool by undergraduate calculus students as they worked cooperatively on mathematical tasks. Specific attention was given to levels of cognitive demand in which the students were engaged as they completed in-class labs with the assistance of MathCAD. Participants were assigned…

The purpose of this paper is to offer a framework for categorizing and describing the different types of processes that undergraduates use to construct proofs. Based on 176 observations of undergraduates constructing proofs collected over several studies, I describe three qualitatively different ways that undergraduates use to construct proofs. In…

We describe a project for calculus and differential equations students involving trajectories of a spacecraft whose propulsion system depends solely on muting gravitational effects of heavenly bodies. In particular, we consider the spacecraft imagined by H. G. Wells, and focus on getting his spacecraft from the Moon to the Earth. Cavorite, angular…

The purpose of this study was to identify common problems students that experience in proof writing. Toward this end, the authors videotaped groups of students in a bridge course as they worked to construct mathematical proofs. They report on their observations and offer suggestions as to how teachers of transition courses might enhance the…

"The Price is Right" ("TPIR") is a rich source of examples of applied probability, combinatorics, and game theory. While some of the games played on stage by individual contestants stress a knowledge of pricing, many are also heavily based on probability. "TPIR" stage games are a treasury of interesting modules that can be effective learning tools…

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…

"The Simpsons" is an ideal source of fun ways to introduce important mathematical concepts, motivate students, and reduce math anxiety. We discuss examples from "The Simpsons" related to calculus, geometry, and number theory that we have incorporated into the classroom. We explore student reactions and educational benefits and difficulties…

In the UK there is increasing concern about the lack of skill in algebraic manipulation that is evident in students entering mathematics courses at university level. In this note we discuss how the computer can be used to ameliorate some of the problems. We take as an example the calculations needed in three dimensional vector analysis in polar…

This short note introduces an interesting random walk on a circular path with cards of numbers. By using high school probability theory, it is proved that under some assumptions on the number of cards, the probability that a walker will return to a fixed position will tend to one as the length of the circular path tends to infinity.

Literature suggests that the type of context wherein a task is placed relates to students' performance and solution strategies. In the particular domain of logical thinking, there is the belief that students have less difficulty reasoning in verbal than in logically equivalent symbolic tasks. Thus far, this belief has remained relatively…

Internet education in mathematics is developing as a new mode of teaching with its own characteristics and possibilities, different from the traditional way of teaching. In a study presented in two parts, we attempt to capture the world of Internet teaching of undergraduate mathematics. In the first part of the study (Engelbrecht, J. and Harding,…

This article discusses five papers focused on "Research on Reasoning about Variation and Variability", by Hammerman and Rubin, Ben-Zvi, Bakker, Reading, and Gould, which appeared in a special issue of the "Statistics Education Research Journal" (No. 3(2) November 2004). Three issues emerged from these papers. First, there is a link between the…

The status of Statistics teaching has not been sufficiently explored in Agricultural Colleges in Argentina. Although Statistics is considered as an important subject in different academic institutions, there is very little information about the way that it is taught in different university curricula. The aims of this study were to (a) gather…