What are fractions and what does it mean to understand them?
What are fractions and what does it mean to understand them? Negative numbers, the irrationals, and imaginary numbers are not that easy to make sense of for many students. But this is something...
View ArticleBob is learning calculation
Bob is learning calculation Bob is an elementary school student. He is learning to calculate. He just learned about addition and multiplication but there are some things that he doesn’t understand. For...
View ArticleA triangle is a fish
A triangle is a fish Why is it that students find it easier to calculate the area of triangle ABC but will have difficulty calculating the area of triangle DEF? Middle school students even believe that...
View ArticleWhy do we ‘invert’ the divisor in division of fractions
Why do we ‘invert’ the divisor in division of fractions The easiest (and the most common) way to teach division of fractions is to just give the rule: To divide 5/8 by 2/3, just multiply 5/8 by the...
View ArticleWhy PEMDAS is ‘morally’ wrong
Why PEMDAS is ‘morally’ wrong Here’s a video that explains why you need to memorise PEMDAS (or BODMAS, BIDMAS, depending where you are in the world) order of operation and why you don’t need to. Minute...
View ArticleGuest Post: 4 Awesome Kids’ Math Games
Guest Post: 4 Awesome Kids’ Math Games If you’re a math teacher and are looking for fun ways to motivate your class or lighten the atmosphere, here are some great kids’ math games to help you along....
View ArticleBob is learning calculation
Bob is learning calculation Bob is an elementary school student. He is learning to calculate. He just learned about addition and multiplication but there are some things that he doesn’t understand. For...
View ArticleA triangle is a fish
A triangle is a fish Why is it that students find it easier to calculate the area of triangle ABC but will have difficulty calculating the area of triangle DEF? Middle school students even believe that...
View ArticleWhy do we ‘invert’ the divisor in division of fractions
Why do we ‘invert’ the divisor in division of fractions The following sequence of tasks shows how we can teach a procedure for dividing fractions, conceptually. The technique involves the same idea...
View ArticleWhy PEMDAS is ‘morally’ wrong
Why PEMDAS is ‘morally’ wrong Here’s a video that explains why you need to memorise PEMDAS (or BODMAS, BIDMAS, depending where you are in the world) order of operation and why you don’t need to. Minute...
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