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ERIC Number: EJ1153297
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 6
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0819-4564
EISSN: N/A
Addition Chains: A reSolve Lesson
Turner, Paul; Thornton, Steve
Australian Senior Mathematics Journal, v31 n1 p59-64 2017
This article draws on some ideas explored during and after a writing workshop to develop classroom resources for the reSolve: Mathematics by Inquiry (www.resolve.edu.au) project. The project develops classroom and professional learning resources that will promote a spirit of inquiry in school mathematics from Foundation to year ten. The centrepiece of reSolve is the reSolve Protocol, a framework that both underpins the development of the resources and provides a vision for excellence in teaching and learning mathematics generally. The Protocol has three key elements: (1) reSolve mathematics is purposeful; (2) reSolve tasks are challenging yet accessible; and (3) reSolve classrooms have a knowledge-building culture. The activity described in this article, and particularly the way in which it was developed, exemplifies these three elements. It starts with a curious number activity that students are asked to explain. The clear purpose is to show the power of algebra as generalised arithmetic, as it is only by expressing what is happening algebraically that students can explain why the "trick" works. This leads to a task in which students explore other possible relations made with a similar process. The use of spreadsheets and the numerical approach make the activity accessible, while the results themselves, as will be clear later in the article, provide a level of challenge that extends well beyond school-level mathematics.
Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT). GPO Box 1729, Adelaide 5001, South Australia. Tel: +61-8-8363-0288; Fax: +61-8-8362-9288; e-mail: office@aamt.edu.au; Web site: http://www.aamt.edu.au
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A