Describes one teacher's effort to change the classroom environment in order to create student-directed exploratory learning. Presents a lesson in which students use the computer program Lesson Graph to study the effects of coefficients on linear equations. (ASK)

Describes a card trick that provides opportunities for students to discover patterns, work with variables, create tables, and ponder mathematics. Students at various levels of ability are able to enjoy the trick, and mathematical discourse is promoted within the classroom. (AIM)

Describes a research project that examined the effects of the Computer-Intensive Algebra (CIA) and traditional algebra curricula on students' (N=802) understanding of the function concept. Results indicate that CIA students achieved a better understanding of functions and were better at the components of modeling, interpreting, and translating.…

Presents a model for teaching reasoning using technology in the contexts of algebra and geometry. (MKR)

Describes how college students enrolled in a course in elementary algebra apply graphing and algebra to data collected from a seismic profile to uncover the structure of a subterranean rock formation. Includes steps guiding the activity. (MDH)

Discusses the place of writing in mathematics classes. Presents three specific writing assignments designed for and used in a college abstract algebra course. (ASK)

Explored the variables that affect enrollment in eighth-grade algebra for African-American students. Studied constructs that fell into three broad categories: individual characteristics, home/parent variables, and school-related variables. Assessed data from the base-year student and parent data files of the National Education Longitudinal Study…

Presents examples of algebra from the field of accounting including proportional ownership of stock, separation of a loan payment into principal and interest portions, depreciation methods, and salary withholdings computations. (MKR)

Utilizes a psychological-constructivist perspective to examine the transitions that students make from arithmetic to algebra in the context of problems that, from an expert's perspective, involve the concept of linear inequality. Reports that students who completed a transition to algebra operated at higher levels of reflective abstraction than…

Demonstrates that using the elementary number theory in algebra classes helps students to use acquired algebraic skills as well as helping them to more clearly understand concepts that are presented. Discusses factoring, divisibility rules, and number patterns. (AIM)

Presented are solutions to variations of a combinatorics problem from a recent International Mathematics Olympiad. In particular, the matrix algebra solution illustrates an interaction among the undergraduate areas of geometry, combinatorics, linear algebra, and group theory. (JJK)

Research findings concerning student learning difficulties in algebra are discussed. A teaching approach which takes into consideration these findings is suggested. Encouraging students to see patterns and to develop flexibility in their thinking are stressed. (CW)

Demonstrates a change in the goals of teaching the algebra of equation-solving in Victoria, Australia that requires a transition from a way of solving problems in arithmetic to a conceptually new algebraic way. Contains 20 references. (Author/ASK)

Presents an activity applicable at the beginning of the year to review necessary algebra concepts that are often misunderstood by students. Presents a true/false worksheet made up of examples illustrating common algebra and trigonometry errors made by students. (MDH)

Described is a weekly computer algebra laboratory course for Calculus I students during the 10-week spring semester, 1990, at Trinity University. Advice on the establishment and management of this type of laboratory including descriptions of student participation trends and student reactions is presented. (JJK)