ERIC Number: EJ1044141
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Dec
Pages: 6
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0025-5769
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Using KenKen to Build Reasoning Skills
Reiter, Harold B.; Thornton, John; Vennebush, G. Patrick
Mathematics Teacher, v107 n5 p341-347 Dec 2013
KenKen® is the new Sudoku. Like Sudoku, KenKen requires extensive use of logical reasoning. Unlike Sudoku, KenKen requires significant reasoning with numbers and operations and helps develop number sense. The creator of KenKen puzzles, Tetsuya Miyamoto, believed that "if you give children good learning materials, they will think and learn and grow on their own" (Nextoy 2012). KenKen puzzles help develop perseverance and stamina, and in the classroom they promote problem solving, reasoning, and communication. Because KenKen puzzles can vary in difficulty, they can be used effectively in middle school classrooms, high school classrooms, extracurricular math clubs, mathematics courses for nonmajors, and methods courses for preservice teachers.
Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Mathematical Logic, Number Concepts, Mathematics Skills, Educational Games, Puzzles, Middle School Students, High School Students, Secondary School Mathematics, Concept Formation, Teaching Methods
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. 1906 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191-1502. Tel: 800-235-7566; Tel: 703-620-3702; Fax: 703-476-2970; e-mail: orders@nctm.org; Web site: http://www.nctm.org/publications/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Junior High Schools; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A