NEWSLETTER February 2020 What's new in the world of math and education this month? |
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Always striving to move forward, mathematics education researchers study novel ways of integrating new approaches into their curricula. Sometimes these approaches have little to no effect or are confined to only be successfully used in isolated circumstances. The introduction of Oragami into classrooms has recently been studied. |
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Mathematics Education A Comparison Study of Using Origami as a Teaching Tool in Middle-School Mathematics Class in North America and China This Major Paper compares origami-based mathematics school activities in North America and China. It introduces the current situation of the use of origami in mathematics classes to identify the similarities and differences of using origami as a teaching approach in these two regions. The Paper also attempts the analysis from various perspectives, including mathematics reform, mathematics learning system and environment, as well as the benefits of using origami in mathematics class, and how it relates to students’ mathematics achievement. Both North American and Chinese mathematics educators’ focus on integrating origami into middle schools’ mathematics classes can be found in the study. Some same or similar origami activities are used in the two regions; however, origami in Chinese classes is more often used as an auxiliary teaching activity, while teachers in North America also teach origami itself such as modular origami. | | |
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Math In Science A Grand Unified Theory of Rogue Waves Two weeks before Christmas in 1978, the cargo ship MS München encountered a fierce storm in the North Atlantic. Although the captain couldn’t evade it, the forecasted waves and winds should have posed no threat to the 261-meter-long ship. At midnight, just three hours earlier, an operator had radioed out to a cruise ship, “Have a good trip and see you soon.” Now came a distress call from the München — then silence. The West German vessel and its 28-person crew vanished, leaving behind just four lifeboats, three shipping containers, and a handful of flotation devices. | | |
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Monthly Mind-Bending Math Video There is the old adage "There is more than one way to skin a cat" has been recounted innumerable times as a way to say that there is more than one way to do something. But could this apply to multiplication beyond the trivially different methods like the Lattice Method, Standard Method, Grid Method etc. that all use identical algorithms differing only in appearance? Could there be a truly novel other method? |
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Opinion Article Creativity Important to Lift Math Education Innovative research at Flinders University supports the importance of creativity in problem-solving to invigorate interest in mathematics. A new book by senior lecturer in teacher education, Dr. Carol Aldous, outlines strong evidence that intuitive, non-cognitive thought processes are vital in solving mathematical problems. | | |
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Math News Mathematicians Prove Universal Law of Turbulence Picture a calm river. Now picture a torrent of white water. What is the difference between the two? To mathematicians and physicists it’s this: The smooth river flows in one direction, while the torrent flows in many different directions at once. Physical systems with this kind of haphazard motion are called turbulent. The fact that their motion unfolds in so many different ways at once makes them difficult to study mathematically. Generations of mathematicians will likely come and go before researchers are able to describe a roaring river in exact mathematical statements. | | |
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