Computer-aided assessment (CAA) has been used at a university with one of the largest mathematics and engineering undergraduate cohorts in the UK for more than ten years. Lecturers teaching mathematics to first year students were asked about their current use of CAA in a questionnaire and in interviews. This article presents the issues that these…

Following the publication of the results of a survey of classroom teachers conducted by Hyde (2004) 5 years ago, a similar, smaller scale study has been carried out by the author and a study group. The aims of the study are two-fold, firstly to assess what a small group of teachers of mathematics in the UK now consider to be the contribution of…

The study reported in this article deals with the observed actions of Turkish pre-service mathematics teachers in dynamic geometry environment (DGE) as they were learning Khayyam's method for solving cubic equations formed as x[superscript 3] + ax = b. Having learned the method, modelled it in DGE and verified the correctness of the solution,…

This article discusses student difficulties in grasping concepts from linear algebra. Using an example from an interview with a student, we propose changes that might positively impact student understanding of concepts within a problem-solving context. In particular, we illustrate barriers to student understanding and suggest technological…

In many mathematical problems, students can feel that the universality of a conjecture or a formula is validated by their experiment and experience. In contrast, students generally do not feel that deductive explanations strengthen their conviction that a conjecture or a formula is true. In order to cope up with students' conviction based only on…

This article is the first of the two-part discussion of the development of a new Freshman Business Mathematics (FBM) course at our college. Part I of the article describes the background and history behind the course, and provides a theoretical framework for the design of the course. This design involves students in learning and applying…

As any ordinary person knows, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. What, then, is the shortest distance between three points? Four points? The study reported in this article deals with the observed actions of Turkish student mathematics teachers as they were working with minimal network problems. Having analysed the…

Excel, Microsoft's spreadsheet program, offers several tools which have proven useful in solving some optimization problems that arise in operations research. We will look at two such tools, the Excel modules called Solver and Goal Seek--this after deriving an equation, called the "cash accumulation equation", to be used in conjunction with them.

Investigates the introduction of mathematical modeling into the mathematics assessment program of the International Baccalaureate Diploma. Considers structured and open modeling in the pre-university mathematics program. Discusses influences of the use of hand-held technology on mathematical modeling and teacher and assessor beliefs about modeling…

In part 1 of this work we showed how modern mathematical research could, with a suitably chosen problem, be included in the first year curriculum of undergraduate mathematicians. With the use of Computer Algebra Systems, even the average undergraduate mathematician can aspire to discover interesting yet still unexplained behaviour in many areas of…

Since the last decade, the use of computer algebra systems at the Hong Kong school level is still very limited. Among various reasons behind, the lack of exposure of this kind of software to local school teachers should be taken into account. In this article, we describe how to introduce MAPLE in a BEd module of a local teacher-training programme.…

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a planimeter is "an instrument for measuring the area of a plane figure by tracing its boundary line". Even without knowing how a planimeter works, it is clear from the definition that the idea behind it is that one can compute the area of a figure just by "walking" on the boundary. For someone who has…

Knowing the mathematics relating to a problem is one thing, but producing a tool to solve a practical example is often daunting. This article describes a case study which presented an interesting implementational challenge.

Focuses on the use of the Internet to deliver resources directly to the secondary school teacher that can be used in the teaching of geometry and which requires a minimum of learning on the teacher's part. Considers the credibility, richness, and value of such resources. (MM)

Recounts the experiences of faculty members as they addressed some of the challenges presented in choosing and integrating a new technology, the TI-89 hand-held computer algebra system (CAS), into the core mathematics curriculum. Relates in detail deciding which instrument to choose, instructing students to use the technology, affecting the…