John Todd, now in his mid-90s, began his career as a pure mathematician, but World War II interrupted that. In this interview, he talks about his education, the significant developments in his becoming a numerical analyst, and the journey that concluded at Caltech. Among the interesting stories are how he met his wife-to-be the mathematician Olga…

Encouraging students to make independent discoveries is an effective way to get them excited about mathematics, and sharing their triumphant moments (their light bulb moments) helps to spread this excitement to their peers. A Mathematics for the Liberal Arts course is a perfect venue for the sharing of light bulb moments, as it helps to correct…

This paper focus on the reflection of my teaching practices using students' Math Moments. I began to invest time in the past mathematical experiences of my students to better help me understand my own teaching practices. Throughout this paper I will reflect on my own teaching practice, delve into relevant literature and will use poignant math…

This article looks at the question of whether and how a geometrical cube may be determined as the solution set of a single equation. Beyond this being an interesting and surprising result for upper high school and first year college students, we argue that, as an investigative activity, it has value in refining students' images of what solutions…

Quantitative literacy, the ability to discriminate between good and bad data, the disposition to use quantitative information to think through complex problems are capacities that educators across fields should be helping students develop. Burke leads the reader to this conclusion through an extended example of income distribution, clarified and…

Nonstandard Analysis gives an alternative approach to teaching elementary calculus. This paper hopes to communicate to the reader the ideas of this recent development in mathematics and its implications in teaching undergraduate students. The development of the approach is first briefly traced. Then a method of constructing on ordered field…

This issues paper was prepared by a task force convened by the Mathematical Sciences Education Board to explore the feasibility of assembling and disseminating source materials for mathematics departments and individual faculty members at the college level seeking to better document their educational growth and effectiveness over time. Four…

Presented are recommendations from a conference on two-year college mathematics, relating to the curriculum and new technologies, collaborative efforts with secondary schools and post-secondary groups, and faculty development and renewal. (MNS)

In Exeter (ALM 2, 1995), Wolfgang Schloeglmann and the author presented some results of their research. One of these results is a useful metaphor: Teaching mathematics to engineers and scientists who have finished their university studies and have worked for many years in, for example, industry, is structurally similar to the technology transfer…

The maximal rectangle idea is used to illustrate ways to ease students into the frame of mind required for problem solving in calculus. (MNS)

Argues that the types of systematic quantitative reasoning skills developed by the study of statistics have intellectual and practical merits and that quantitative reasoning is better taught as an element of general education by concentrating on descriptive statistics rather than on more complex techniques. (DMM)

Philosophies of mathematics, applications of mathematics to social or humanistic areas, where knowledge is lodged, mathematical education at a higher metalevel, and the interpretive component of mathematical education are discussed. (MNS)

Presents a summary report of the Algebra Working Group's discussion subgroup on tertiary algebra at the Seventh International Conference on Mathematical Education held in Quebec City, Canada in August 1992. (MKR)

In this article, the author describes his experiences when he decided to teach university-level mathematics to Year 8. Handling a particularly able class who had investigated the isoperimetric problem, he was confident that the class was more than up to the challenge and adequately motivated. Using a Powerpoint, he delivered the lessons to the…

Discussed are the difficulties that entering college freshmen seem to have with mathematics, particularly with fractional forms. A success-oriented program is suggested in which all students are successful. To obtain this goal, a number of alternative routes are discussed such as presenting decimals before fractional forms and the use of the…