Presents the problem of finding the maximum area of a quadrilateral when three of the four sides are given. Incorporates several parts of the secondary school precalculus curriculum into the solution. Develops the formula to solve the problem. (MDH)

Concerns have been raised about the Department of Education's (Education) role in overseeing the lenders and schools that participate in the largest of the federal government's student loan programs, the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). GAO was asked to analyze Education's use of its oversight, guidance, and enforcement authorities…

The Field Trip to the Moon program uses an inquiry-based learning approach that fosters team building and introduces students to careers in science and engineering. The program components include a DVD and classroom investigations. The compelling DVD (not included here) provides essential information about Earth and the Moon. The hands-on…

EQUALS is a teacher education program that helps elementary and secondary educators acquire methods and materials to attract minority and female students to mathematics. It supports a problem-solving approach to mathematics which has students working in groups, uses active assessment methods, and incorporates a broad mathematics curriculum…

This book is divided into eight sections. Section One, "A New Look at Mathematics: Rationale and Strategies for Reforming Mathematics", includes: An Overview of Mathematics Reform; Management for Computation Skills; Math Strategies for Individualized or Small Group Instruction; Math Strands Planning Activity; and Performance Assessment. Section…

An effective curriculum gives students the opportunity to perceive relationships among different topics in mathematics, use mathematics in their everyday lives, and apply mathematical thinking and problem solving to other curriculum areas. This book contains fun and creative ways to integrate mathematics across the curriculum with a diversity of…

Get students into math using outer space! Mission Mathematics translates the NASA experience into language and experiences appropriate for young learners, and provides teachers with mathematics activities that complement many of the available NASA resources for students and educators. In these motivating investigations, young children engage in…

Algorithmic and investigative approaches to mathematics are compared and discussed. Their mutually contradictory spirit is explored. Examples of the application of each method to a mathematics problem are presented. (CW)

Presents 5 activities for the K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8 grade levels and for in the home in which students explore the concept of combinations. Each activity includes a lesson plan to investigate a combinatorics problem appropriate for that grade level. Provides reproducible worksheets. (MDH)

Presents two seasonally related investigations involving arithmetic series to develop critical thinking: (1) the number of candles needed for the eight nights of Hanukkah, and (2) the number of presents given during "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Students also calculated the amount of money needed to buy all the presents. (MDH)

Discusses the inherent flaws in considering and using the epistemology of the natural sciences as equivalent to a pedagogic basis for teaching and learning in the natural sciences. Discusses the difference between practicing science and learning to practice science. Concludes with the presentation of three new motives for the use of laboratory…

Demonstrates how the uniqueness and anonymity of a student's Social Security number can be utilized to create individualized polynomial equations that students can investigate using computers or graphing calculators. Students write reports of their efforts to find and classify all real roots of their equation. (MDH)

This article describes a teacher's techniques and strategies for promoting productive discourse and supporting active learning in the mathematics classroom. The lesson excerpts included are from two days of a workshop with primarily middle-grades teachers. These excerpts demonstrate the teacher's typical progression through defining a problem,…

When a college/university employee feels that his/her rights have been abrogated, the human resource department and in-house legal staff should be prepared to conduct a comprehensive, objective, and professional investigation. Such issues as proof of misconduct, "reasonable grounds," negligent investigation claims, and defamation claims are…

Presents a hands-on mathematics task that can be investigated experimentally to produce a sequence of numbers. Describes ways to extrapolate values of the table of numbers by formulating and verifying a conjecture related to the pattern in the numbers. (MDH)