Mathematics as a Tool
Mathematics as a Tool

Author: Johannes Lenhard

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-04-04

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 3319544691

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This book puts forward a new role for mathematics in the natural sciences. In the traditional understanding, a strong viewpoint is advocated, on the one hand, according to which mathematics is used for truthfully expressing laws of nature and thus for rendering the rational structure of the world. In a weaker understanding, many deny that these fundamental laws are of an essentially mathematical character, and suggest that mathematics is merely a convenient tool for systematizing observational knowledge. The position developed in this volume combines features of both the strong and the weak viewpoint. In accordance with the former, mathematics is assigned an active and even shaping role in the sciences, but at the same time, employing mathematics as a tool is taken to be independent from the possible mathematical structure of the objects under consideration. Hence the tool perspective is contextual rather than ontological. Furthermore, tool-use has to respect conditions like suitability, efficacy, optimality, and others. There is a spectrum of means that will normally differ in how well they serve particular purposes. The tool perspective underlines the inevitably provisional validity of mathematics: any tool can be adjusted, improved, or lose its adequacy upon changing practical conditions.

Tools and Mathematics
Tools and Mathematics

Author: John Monaghan

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-04-18

Total Pages: 497

ISBN-13: 3319023969

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This book is an exploration of tools and mathematics and issues in mathematics education related to tool use. The book has five parts. The first part reflects on doing a mathematical task with different tools, followed by a mathematician's account of tool use in his work. The second considers prehistory and history: tools in the development from ape to human; tools and mathematics in the ancient world; tools for calculating; and tools in mathematics instruction. The third part opens with a broad review of technology and intellectual trends, circa 1970, and continues with three case studies of approaches in mathematics education and the place of tools in these approaches. The fourth part considers issues related to mathematics instructions: curriculum, assessment and policy; the calculator debate; mathematics in the real world; and teachers' use of technology. The final part looks to the future: task and tool design and new forms of activity via connectivity and computer games.

Symbolizing, Modeling and Tool Use in Mathematics Education
Symbolizing, Modeling and Tool Use in Mathematics Education

Author: K.P Gravemeijer

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-03-09

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 9401731942

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This book explores the option of building on symbolizing, modeling and tool use as personally meaningful activities of students. It discusses the dimension of setting: varying from the study of informal, spontaneous activity of students, to an explicit focus on instructional design, and goals and effects of instruction; and the dimension of the theoretical framework of the researcher: varying from constructivism, to activity theory, cognitive psychology and instructional-design theory.

Semiotics as a Tool for Learning Mathematics
Semiotics as a Tool for Learning Mathematics

Author: Adalira Sáenz-Ludlow

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-12-17

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9463003371

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Semiotics as a Tool for Learning Mathematics is a collection of ten theoretical and empirical chapters, from researchers all over the world, who are interested in semiotic notions and their practical uses in mathematics classrooms. Collectively, they present a semiotic contribution to enhance pedagogical aspects both for the teaching of school mathematics and for the preparation of pre-service teachers. This enhancement involves the use of diagrams to visualize implicit or explicit mathematical relations and the use of mathematical discourse to facilitate the emergence of inferential reasoning in the process of argumentation. It will also facilitate the construction of proofs and solutions of mathematical problems as well as the progressive construction of mathematical conceptions that, eventually, will approximate the concept(s) encoded in mathematical symbols. These symbols hinge not only of mental operations but also on indexical and iconic aspects; aspects which often are not taken into account when working on the meaning of mathematical symbols. For such an enhancement to happen, it is necessary to transform basic notions of semiotic theories to make them usable for mathematics education. In addition, it is also necessary to back theoretical claims with empirical data. This anthology attempts to deal with such a conjunction. Overall, this book can be used as a theoretical basis for further semiotic considerations as well as for the design of different ways of teaching mathematical concepts.

Math Fact Fluency
Math Fact Fluency

Author: Jennifer Bay-Williams

Publisher: ASCD

Published: 2019-01-14

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 1416627227

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This approach to teaching basic math facts, grounded in years of research, will transform students' learning of basic facts and help them become more confident, adept, and successful at math. Mastering the basic facts for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division is an essential goal for all students. Most educators also agree that success at higher levels of math hinges on this fundamental skill. But what's the best way to get there? Are flash cards, drills, and timed tests the answer? If so, then why do students go into the upper elementary grades (and beyond) still counting on their fingers or experiencing math anxiety? What does research say about teaching basic math facts so they will stick? In Math Fact Fluency, experts Jennifer Bay-Williams and Gina Kling provide the answers to these questions—and so much more. This book offers everything a teacher needs to teach, assess, and communicate with parents about basic math fact instruction, including The five fundamentals of fact fluency, which provide a research-based framework for effective instruction in the basic facts. Strategies students can use to find facts that are not yet committed to memory. More than 40 easy-to-make, easy-to-use games that provide engaging fact practice. More than 20 assessment tools that provide useful data on fact fluency and mastery. Suggestions and strategies for collaborating with families to help their children master the basic math facts. Math Fact Fluency is an indispensable guide for any educator who needs to teach basic math facts.

Mathematical Concepts
Mathematical Concepts

Author: Jürgen Jost

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-09-10

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 331920436X

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The main intention of this book is to describe and develop the conceptual, structural and abstract thinking of mathematics. Specific mathematical structures are used to illustrate the conceptual approach; providing a deeper insight into mutual relationships and abstract common features. These ideas are carefully motivated, explained and illustrated by examples so that many of the more technical proofs can be omitted. The book can therefore be used: · simply as an overview of the panorama of mathematical structures and the relations between them, to be supplemented by more detailed texts whenever you want to acquire a working knowledge of some structure · by itself as a first introduction to abstract mathematics · together with existing textbooks, to put their results into a more general perspective · to gain a new and hopefully deeper perspective after having studied such textbooks Mathematical Concepts has a broader scope and is less detailed than standard mathematical textbooks so that the reader can readily grasp the essential concepts and ideas for individual needs. It will be suitable for advanced mathematicians, postgraduate students and for scientists from other fields with some background in formal reasoning.

High School Mathematics Lessons to Explore, Understand, and Respond to Social Injustice
High School Mathematics Lessons to Explore, Understand, and Respond to Social Injustice

Author: Robert Q. Berry III

Publisher: Corwin Press

Published: 2020-03-09

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13: 1071806467

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Empower students to be the change—join the teaching mathematics for social justice movement! We live in an era in which students have —through various media and their lived experiences— a more visceral experience of social, economic, and environmental injustices. However, when people think of social justice, mathematics is rarely the first thing that comes to mind. Through model lessons developed by over 30 diverse contributors, this book brings seemingly abstract high school mathematics content to life by connecting it to the issues students see and want to change in the world. Along with expert guidance from the lead authors, the lessons in this book explain how to teach mathematics for self- and community-empowerment. It walks teachers step-by-step through the process of using mathematics—across all high school content domains—as a tool to explore, understand, and respond to issues of social injustice including: environmental injustice; wealth inequality; food insecurity; and gender, LGBTQ, and racial discrimination. This book features: Content cross-referenced by mathematical concept and social issues Downloadable instructional materials for student use User-friendly and logical interior design for daily use Guidance for designing and implementing social justice lessons driven by your own students’ unique passions and challenges Timelier than ever, teaching mathematics through the lens of social justice will connect content to students’ daily lives, fortify their mathematical understanding, and expose them to issues that will make them responsive citizens and leaders in the future.

Mathematical Tools for Data Mining
Mathematical Tools for Data Mining

Author: Dan A. Simovici

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2008-08-15

Total Pages: 611

ISBN-13: 1848002017

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This volume was born from the experience of the authors as researchers and educators,whichsuggeststhatmanystudentsofdataminingarehandicapped in their research by the lack of a formal, systematic education in its mat- matics. The data mining literature contains many excellent titles that address the needs of users with a variety of interests ranging from decision making to p- tern investigation in biological data. However, these books do not deal with the mathematical tools that are currently needed by data mining researchers and doctoral students. We felt it timely to produce a book that integrates the mathematics of data mining with its applications. We emphasize that this book is about mathematical tools for data mining and not about data mining itself; despite this, a substantial amount of applications of mathematical c- cepts in data mining are presented. The book is intended as a reference for the working data miner. In our opinion, three areas of mathematics are vital for data mining: set theory,includingpartially orderedsetsandcombinatorics;linear algebra,with its many applications in principal component analysis and neural networks; and probability theory, which plays a foundational role in statistics, machine learning and data mining. Thisvolumeisdedicatedtothestudyofset-theoreticalfoundationsofdata mining. Two further volumes are contemplated that will cover linear algebra and probability theory. The ?rst part of this book, dedicated to set theory, begins with a study of functionsandrelations.Applicationsofthesefundamentalconceptstosuch- sues as equivalences and partitions are discussed. Also, we prepare the ground for the following volumes by discussing indicator functions, ?elds and?-?elds, and other concepts.

Strengths-Based Teaching and Learning in Mathematics
Strengths-Based Teaching and Learning in Mathematics

Author: Beth McCord Kobett

Publisher: Corwin

Published: 2020-02-27

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 1544374909

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"This book is a game changer! Strengths-Based Teaching and Learning in Mathematics: 5 Teaching Turnarounds for Grades K- 6 goes beyond simply providing information by sharing a pathway for changing practice. . . Focusing on our students’ strengths should be routine and can be lost in the day-to-day teaching demands. A teacher using these approaches can change the trajectory of students’ lives forever. All teachers need this resource! Connie S. Schrock Emporia State University National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics President, 2017-2019 NEW COVID RESOURCES ADDED: A Parent’s Toolkit to Strengths-Based Learning in Math is now available on the book’s companion website to support families engaged in math learning at home. This toolkit provides a variety of home-based activities and games for families to engage in together. Your game plan for unlocking mathematics by focusing on students’ strengths. We often evaluate student thinking and their work from a deficit point of view, particularly in mathematics, where many teachers have been taught that their role is to diagnose and eradicate students’ misconceptions. But what if instead of focusing on what students don’t know or haven’t mastered, we identify their mathematical strengths and build next instructional steps on students’ points of power? Beth McCord Kobett and Karen S. Karp answer this question and others by highlighting five key teaching turnarounds for improving students’ mathematics learning: identify teaching strengths, discover and leverage students’ strengths, design instruction from a strengths-based perspective, help students identify their points of power, and promote strengths in the school community and at home. Each chapter provides opportunities to stop and consider current practice, reflect, and transfer practice while also sharing · Downloadable resources, activities, and tools · Examples of student work within Grades K–6 · Real teachers’ notes and reflections for discussion It’s time to turn around our approach to mathematics instruction, end deficit thinking, and nurture each student’s mathematical strengths by emphasizing what makes them each unique and powerful.

How Not to Be Wrong
How Not to Be Wrong

Author: Jordan Ellenberg

Publisher: Penguin Press

Published: 2014-05-29

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 1594205221

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A brilliant tour of mathematical thought and a guide to becoming a better thinker, How Not to Be Wrong shows that math is not just a long list of rules to be learned and carried out by rote. Math touches everything we do; It's what makes the world make sense. Using the mathematician's methods and hard-won insights-minus the jargon-professor and popular columnist Jordan Ellenberg guides general readers through his ideas with rigor and lively irreverence, infusing everything from election results to baseball to the existence of God and the psychology of slime molds with a heightened sense of clarity and wonder. Armed with the tools of mathematics, we can see the hidden structures beneath the messy and chaotic surface of our daily lives. How Not to Be Wrong shows us how--Publisher's description.