A project is described where the ultimate goal is to teach students methods of problem solving through an industrial engineering environment. Students practice sharing responsibility, understanding group dynamics, using resources efficiently, meeting deadlines, using mathematics in oral and written form, and applying the appropriate mathematics.…

The concept of trigonometric ratios in a right triangle can be clearly presented through the use of interactive-geometry software. Investigation in this manner allows students to see the crucial features of the concepts before they are formalized and to gain ownership of these ideas through discovery. Many examples of the mathematical…

Presents cost analyses of building a patio, incorporating manipulatives, pattern building, graphing calculators, matrix applications, and functions. Includes reproducible student worksheet. (MKR)

Presents an activity that involves drawing pictures to collect data, conjecturing a recurrence relation, and solving the relation using geometric series and partial fractions. (MKR)

Presents a geometric discovery involving the use of a trapezoid as a base for a pyramid. Includes reproducible student worksheet to be used as a group-discovery exercise. (MKR)

Explores trapezoidal numbers, which are the result of subtracting two triangular numbers. Includes classroom activities involving trapezoidal numbers to help students develop their problem-solving skills. Includes reproducible student worksheets. (MKR)

Suggests ways parents can encourage success in algebra, including keeping a journal in which students describe in words the steps they used in solving a problem. (MKR)

Presents an alternate approach to teaching quadratics by fully integrating the study of quadratic equations and quadratic functions using graphs. Includes reproducible student worksheets. (MKR)

Presents a real-life example of mathematical modeling in which a medical company asks for help in solving a warehouse-inventory problem. Uses charts, graphs, and computers. (MKR)

Gives a student-accessible proof that, in any convex polyhedron, the number of vertices plus the number of faces is always two more than the number of edges. (MKR)

Describes a project using computer and video technology to help students understand the criteria that were used to evaluate their statistics projects. (MKR)

Chronicles an example of using the Internet to teach high school statistics. The project, Ask a Teen, involved a group of students who surveyed and shared cultural data with a group of overseas students. Includes sample survey questions. (MKR)

Presents an activity, involving pentagons and using a figure manipulator such as The Geometer's Sketchpad, that requires students to reason geometrically without making unsubstantiated assumptions based on diagrams. (MKR)

Describes how learning logs were used in a second-year algebra class to help students prepare for a review session. (MKR)

Describes how a 3-inch by 5-inch card can be used to develop properties of similar triangles and prove the Pythagorean theorem. (MKR)