I posed my son a puzzle today. He’s a student, in senior high school, and exams are ever in his mind. I told him a story of four students who missed their exam, and gave him some information about them.
Category: Education
The Puzzle Universe – A History of Mathematics in 315 Puzzles
The other day I received a marvellous package in the post. Inside was a book, The Puzzle Universe, by Ivan Moscovich, published by Firefly Books. Ivan Moscovich has made a career out of making amazing mathematical puzzles and games.
Continue reading The Puzzle Universe – A History of Mathematics in 315 Puzzles
“My Daughter Doesn’t Like Math”
I got a message today through my facebook page:
My daughter is 10 year old and she does not like math. What stuff online in math should I use to make her interested in maths? Thanks in advance
Are Complex Numbers Real?
I saw a post on reddit asking whether imaginary numbers were actually any use at all.
My response was getting so long, I decided to post it here:
Evidence in Education
This article by Tim Harford should be compulsory reading for every teacher, educational administrator and politician.
Educational Experiments
If you’ve ever been cured of a stomach ulcer, you can be thankful for the work of an Australian scientist, Dr Barry Marshall. As a young researcher, he and a colleague developed the idea that stomach ulcers were not just caused by stress, but by a bacterium that somehow managed to survive the hydrochloric acid in our digestive system.
Adding (and Subtracting) Fractions Tips
The “standard” way to add (or subtract) fractions is to put them over a common denominator first. So, the fraction problem
is
First Presidential Debate
Here’s a summary of what Obama and Romney said on education during the first Presidential debate. I first posted this information as a sequence of tweets.
It supports what I wrote earlier – educators should vote Democrat this election, because Obama has a vision of education building a core of strength into the USA, but Romney gives education little thought.
Should Educators Vote Democrat Or Republican?
Some time ago, I got statements from Team Obama and Team Romney about their policies on education. In each case, I received what is no doubt a pre-drafted response on a standard policy issue – with Mitt Romney’s website, this was obvious, but with Barack Obama’s website the response came in the form of a letter addressing the issue.
Both potential 2013 presidents pointed to their record on education – Barack Obama pointed to policies he has enacted as President, in spite of an obstructionist congress. Mitt Romney pointed to his record as Governor of Massachusetts.
So, based on their responses and comments they’ve made in the campaign, how should you choose? If you are a single-issue voter for whom education is the key, who should you vote for?
Continue reading Should Educators Vote Democrat Or Republican?
Mitt Romney’s Education Policy
Several months ago, I wrote to all potential 2013 Presidents and inquired about their views on education. The only reply I received was from Barack Obama.
However, Mitt Romney’s website allows me to receive pre-prepared emails on certain policy issues. So, I entered my email address, hit “send”, and quickly got his canned response. Since the other Republican candidates had dropped out of the race by then (or didn’t, but can’t win anyway), I didn’t bother pursuing the matter further with them.
I’ll comment further on the replies received from Obama and Romney soon, but for now, here’s what Team Romney had to say on education.