Investigates the types of instructor behavior that created or exacerbated mathematics anxiety in students. Determines the grade level at which mathematics anxiety first occurred in these students. Concludes that several factors can cause mathematics anxiety, instructor behavior being one of them. (ASK)

Discusses how many students cheat in middle and high school mathematics classes and the reasons for cheating. Offers practices to prevent student cheating. Contains 19 references. (ASK)

Provides a brief synopsis of the development of the National Fire Danger Rating System along with an explanation of how it works and possible ways to use it in a modeling or problem-solving unit in a secondary mathematics classroom. (ASK)

Extends a counting activity described in the April 1997 issue of "The Mathematics Teacher" entitled, "The Pyramid Question: A Problem Solving Adventure." In this activity, students must find all triangles with positive integral sides and a perimeter of 36. Considers triangles with perimeters other than 36 for this activity and uses a computer…

Explores some of the principles of and presents several constructions in hyperbolic geometry using script tools created for the Geometer's Sketchpad. (ASK)

Presents remarks adapted from the presidential address given at the 1999 annual meeting of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). Explains that the mathematics classroom teacher must create an environment that supports students, mathematics growth at many different levels, and ways in which to accomplish this. Considers changing…

Discusses more effective uses of assessment techniques in mathematics classrooms. Presents some examples of powerful assessment techniques. (ASK)

Presents an activity that uses an inexpensive paper plate and a short length of adding machine tape to help students experience the concept of radian measure. Focuses on radian measurement and connects many geometric concepts regarding the circle. (ASK)

Presents a hands-on modeling experiment that focuses on hyperbolic functions, asymptotes, data analysis, applied statistics, and optimization problems. (ASK)

Produces algebraic solutions by reducing the problems to equations and arithmetic solutions that do not use variables. Investigates how the arithmetic solution helps students better understand the problem before they approach it algebraically and how logic used in solving the problem arithmetically can be directly linked to the algebraic…

Describes a course diary that documents events in the course during the year and supplies a record of overall student performance and expectations. Explains the benefits and contents of a course diary, as well as what can be done throughout the year to make writing the course diary an easy task. (ASK)

Presents students' successful writing assessments which alleviate students' fears by assigning interesting trigonometry problems and places students in a setting in which they use critical thinking skills, express their ideas verbally with other students, express their mathematics in writing, and have fun. (ASK)

Describes preparation for instruction using a problem-based approach as part of a teaching-strategy repertoire. Describes classes that use the approach successfully, and identifies pitfalls. Suggests ways that mathematics teachers can get assistance in successfully implementing a problem-based teaching approach. Presents research results that…

Derives lessons from the human process of constructing the proof of Fermat's last theorem such as serious mathematical thinking takes time as well as intellectual courage and skills. (ASK)

Presents an example of how students can use the connections among different disciplines of mathematics to investigate a branch of mathematics that is not usually encountered in high school courses, that of graph theory. (ASK)