Top products from r/matheducation

We found 31 product mentions on r/matheducation. We ranked the 111 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.

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Top comments that mention products on r/matheducation:

u/linuxlass · 1 pointr/matheducation

The Grapes of Math and the other books in that series are pretty good. Kind of a mix of numeracy and recreational math, but for kids.

There's a good book called Innumeracy, but that may be over the head of a child that young.

Once he's had a bit of algebra, A Long Way From Euclid is an excellent book. Even without the algebra, he might benefit by reading it together with someone.

You may also want to look at the library for introductory material on Euclidean geometric constructions, orgami, tessellations, fractals, topology (Flatland?), stereograms, Logo ("turtle graphics"), combinatorics, celestial mechanics.

Or for more hand-on stuff: play with Newtonian physics - build stuff with catapults, marbles, etc. The Art of the Catapult is a good book with plans for various machines.

Also, building kites, or paper airplanes:

The Paper Airplane Book

Paper Airplanes and Other Super Flyers

The Great Kite Book

25 Kites That Fly

Kites For Everyone

u/starethruyou · 1 pointr/matheducation

First, please make sure everyone understands they are capable of teaching the entire subject without a textbook. "What am I to teach?" is answered by the Common Core standards. I think it's best to free teachers from the tyranny of textbooks and the entire educational system from the tyranny of textbook publishers. If teachers never address this, it'll likely never change.

Here are a few I think are capable to being used but are not part of a larger series to adopt beyond one course:
Most any book by Serge Lang, books written by mathematicians and without a host of co-writers and editors are more interesting, cover the same topics, more in depth, less bells, whistles, fluff, and unneeded pictures and other distracting things, and most of all, tell a coherent story and argument:

Geometry and solutions

Basic Mathematics is a precalculus book, but might work with some supplementary work for other classes.

A First Course in Calculus

For advanced students, and possibly just a good teacher with all students, the Art of Problem Solving series are very good books:
Middle & high school:
and elementary linked from their main page. I have seen the latter myself.

Some more very good books that should be used more, by Gelfand:

The Method of Coordinates

Functions and Graphs

Algebra

Trigonometry

Lines and Curves: A Practical Geometry Handbook

u/asaharyev · 1 pointr/matheducation

I think it can be reinforced this way, but I feel that a lot of the asking of "why?" can be important for students, albeit annoying at times for teachers, and that may not come up in the same way with games(Though it also might).

Beyond this, there are students who do desire to continue with mathematics after the basic high school curriculum, and many of them do not really know that until after they complete some higher-level math courses like Calculus. So the math is still important.

That being said, I love bringing games in to the classroom. Though I typically stay away from anything advertised as a "math game." Instead, I bring games that I like, but in which mathematical concepts can be found. Some examples I've used in class include: Set, Mao, The Great Dalmuti, Settlers of Catan, and Formula D.

u/Stessanie · 2 pointsr/matheducation

The first place I'd look would probably be a physical book - something like this. Encyclopedia-style books with one concept per two-page spread would also be among my go-tos, but those might not be long enough for your purposes. Additionally, do you know anyone who did a history of mathematics class in university? Some of those classes are open to history majors as well as math majors, so they could potentially have more history than math.


Oh, and just for fun: here's a Christmas-themed piece about Pascal's Triangle.


I wish I had something more concrete to offer you. Best of luck!

u/DrKittens · 3 pointsr/matheducation

The Van de Walle and colleagues' book that emtoo mentioned in another comment is probably one of the most popular books university teacher educators use in math methods courses for future teachers. It is expensive, but well worth it. You can also borrow it from a library (or see if the local school district has any copies to loan out) to look at it before you buy. I think a lot of elementary and middle school teachers still own this book.

Even before you get the above book, you might want to look at some of the early childhood literature. For example, this book by Juanita Copley this a great one.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has several "practitioner" journals-one for elementary called Teaching Children Mathematics, the middle school one called Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, and the high school one called Mathematics Teaching. These would be good for getting ideas of good math teaching. The NCTM also publishes the Journal of Research in Mathematics Education, but I don't know how useful this would be for a homeschooling parent (or teacher). It is the most highly regarded journal (well, but most) in the field of math education. Mostly researchers and grad students read that journal.



You can get a free 120-day NCTM membership, but I am not sure what you get with that. It might be good to try it out and poke around on their website.

u/tbthomps · 2 pointsr/matheducation

I know this isn't exactly what you're requesting (I assume you're requesting resources on the web for your consumption) but allow me to suggest the following book


A large part of truly understanding mathematics is built upon the foundation of understanding and being able to correctly write proofs. The book above will introduce you to proofwriting and do so while teaching you why certain things you learned in college-level calculus I and II are correct; this may prove more rewarding of an experience than simply crunching answers based on theorems that the book tells you are true.

u/batnastard · 0 pointsr/matheducation

Hmmm. There is an entire academic field dedicated to this question, and most serious stuff will be found in journal articles rather than books. The Singapore Math curriculum is essentially designed for homeschoolers, and they offer some good guides on how to best use their particular product. If you're interested in a more inquiry-based approach, you might check out

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/03/5-year-olds-can-learn-calculus/284124/

And

http://www.amazon.com/Out-Labyrinth-Setting-Mathematics-Free/dp/0195147448/sr=8-1/qid=1167859040/ref=sr_1_1/002-8958891-7740062?ie=UTF8&s=books

As for the journal, the biggest one is the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, but there are a ton of them. I don't know prices, but it might be worth looking into a membership to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics or the Mathematical Association of America.

Good luck, it's a rabbit hole!

u/genriquez · 1 pointr/matheducation

We often ask our 9th graders to show how to add, multiply, subtract, etc. in more than one way. They often prefer algorithms but they have difficulty making sense with what they actually mean and how they transfer into algebraic thinking. I do have to say over time, they get better at the multiple ways of performing operations.

People who are good at number sense and mental math often don't waste time with algorithms.

I would recommend picking up this book and spending 5-10 minutes a day doing number strings:
http://www.amazon.com/Building-Powerful-Numeracy-Middle-Students/dp/0325026629

You can also pick up "Lessons and Activities for Building Powerful Numeracy" which has handouts/worksheets and sample discussions with students.

You can basically look for anything else that is written by Pamela Weber Harris or Catherine Fosnot.

u/IKnowPiToTwoDigits · 4 pointsr/matheducation

One of the best books I've read that places mathematical discoveries in their historical contexts: Journey Through Genius. Dunham tells the story of math through different great theorems - why they were historically important, why they are important today - and then walks you through the proof. My copy is at school, so I can't say anything more tonight, but give it a shot.

Good luck!

u/weaselword · 1 pointr/matheducation

Math content knowledge on a subject is pre-requisite to pedagogical knowledge. If a teacher can't divide fractions, xe won't be able to effectively teach xir students how to divide fractions either. This point was highlighted in Liping Ma's book that has been making the rounds in math ed community.

You are right that just knowing how to divide fractions doesn't mean that you can effectively teach it; that's where the jingle "ours isn't to ask why/ just invert and multiply" came from: well-meaning teachers who are trying the best they know how to get their students to pass the tests.

u/checkyourwork · 2 pointsr/matheducation

"The Number Devil" is a great book, lots of pictures, easy to read, but really has some neat mathematical concepts explained simply.

u/claypigeon-alleg · 3 pointsr/matheducation

There are some board games that encourage abstract or mathematical thinking.

I slowly bought 5 decks of the Set card game, which is good for a couple days' distraction (especially if kids shuffle in and out through the week).

Combination finding games like Sushi Go will also get some mileage.

If you have a smaller class and longer periods, 6-player Settles of Catan will lead to a good discussion on probability (and how life isn't fair because no one is rolling 8).

u/hausdorffparty · 6 pointsr/matheducation

I don't know what age, and students at that age vary wildly in level. However, there are a number of things I might suggest, for different parts of that age range:

The dragonbox app suite.

This link for a list of great toys/physical resources, sortable by age range.

Bedtime Math

Turing Tumble

https://scratch.mit.edu/ (Just let 'em play with making whatever they want to make!)

The book The Number Devil

u/kgilr7 · 5 pointsr/matheducation

I'm surprised Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics by Liping Ma wasn't mentioned, as she did a pretty good job at documenting this.

u/mathiscool72 · 2 pointsr/matheducation

Jo Boaler has also done some interesting (contemporary) work on math education. I find her books (like What's Math Got to Do With It?) really reader friendly, but they also give a good overview of some of the issues prevalent in the field and her take on them based on her research.

u/bay-to-the-apple · 2 pointsr/matheducation

Use number strings or number talks. These are mental math teaching strategies. In number strings you can talk about rounding to friendlier numbers (like multiples of 10 or doubling) for subtraction and then compensating. You can do the same thing for multiplication. After all, when most of us multiply 17 by 19 we don't use the algorithm, we multiply 17 by 20 then we subtract 17 (or -20 and add 3).


This books are useful
http://www.amazon.com/Building-Powerful-Numeracy-Middle-Students/dp/0325026629

And www.numberstrings.com

We can talk via email if you need more ideas. This has been my pedagogical focus. Incorporating numeracy into algebra.

u/etoipi · 3 pointsr/matheducation

I think Basic Mathematics is basically a precalculus text. I can't stand normal textbooks, everything is disconnected and done for you. This is written by one of the best mathematicians and will provoke thought and understanding. He knows his audience too, he's good with kids, check out his book Math! Encounters with High School Students. He's also written a 2-volume calculus text that I know has been used well in high school settings.

u/agent229 · 1 pointr/matheducation

elementary. I teach high school but read a book knowing and teaching elementary mathematics which contrasts US teachers understanding an teaching with Chinese teachers... it's really interesting.

u/littlebugs · 2 pointsr/matheducation

The I Hate Mathematics by Marilyn Burns is a classic and fantastic for extending mathematical thinking. She has a whole line of fun books.

u/MayoMark · 0 pointsr/matheducation

Consider what you mean by "the effectiveness of a multiple choice test". The educator is collecting evidence to support a claim about the understanding and skills of the student. A multiple choice test where answers could be potentially plugged in to solve the problem does not fully support the claim that the student has mastered a method for solving the problem without being given potential solutions. Professional judgement is required for interpretation.


In the classroom, a student's reasoning and skills should be evaluated in a variety of ways. For example, constructed response questions that require the student to explain each step in solving an equation or a project that requires a student to use their mathematical skills in a real life context could be used. These types of assessments are also imperfect because there is a degree of interpretation when assigning a grade.


All assessments have error, they are never perfect measures of a trait or skill.


Can a multiple choice question be written that accounts for your concern, yet evaluates whether a student has mastered this particular topic? Yes, the test could ask to solve two equations, and then have the students select the sum of the two solutions. Plugging in the answers would not help them solve that compound problem. However, this question is not perfect either because we are now evaluating whether they know what the word 'sum' means. This question also requires the student to be correct twice in a row, which could increase assessment error.


However, that is okay because, as I said above, all assessments have error, they are never perfect measures of a trait or skill.


Another factor to consider is that familiarity with multiple choice questions can be beneficial because that is the format of many standardized tests. Doing well on standardized is clearly not the end goal of education, but it is a reality.


Source: I flipped around in my Classroom Assessment textbook before writing this post: http://www.amazon.com/Classroom-Assessment-Principles-Standards-Based-Instruction/dp/0133119424

u/octogintapus · 2 pointsr/matheducation
  • Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics, by Liping Ma. Compares how a group of math teachers from China and a group of math teachers from the US think about concepts and teaching. This book really demonstrates how deeply you can think about even the most elementary mathematical topic.

  • The Teaching Gap, by Stigler and Hiebert. Compares and contrasts teaching practices and teaching philosophies in the US, Germany, and Japan.
u/Sindaena · 2 pointsr/matheducation

I used Liping Ma's Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics when I homeschooled my kids and still refer to it in planning remediation activities as a high school math teacher in an alternative school now.

u/condensedmewk · 1 pointr/matheducation

Khan academy sucks for this reason. I strongly recommend this book if you are spending a lot of time piecing things together https://www.amazon.com/College-Algebra-7th-Robert-Blitzer/dp/013446916X/ref=zg_bs_13887_88?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=P6E5V44ND250Y76AW1S0

It walks you through everything with plenty of practice. There are other books in the series

u/jacobolus · 1 pointr/matheducation

Get a copy of Liping Ma’s book Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics, and read and discuss it together.

Teaching elementary arithmetic is not trivial. It takes deep knowledge and skill.