All posts by Daniel Scher

Daniel Scher, Ph.D., is a senior academic designer at McGraw-Hill Education. He has co-directed two NSF-funded projects: the Dynamic Number project and the Forging Connections project.
Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Math Software

Exploring Factor Rainbows

Leave a comment
This week, I'm going to describe one of my favorite activities for introducing young learners to multiplication and factors. It comes from  Nathalie Sinclair, a professor of mathematics education at Simon Fraser University. In the interactive Web Sketchpad model below (and here), press Jump Along to watch the … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Geometry, Math Software

Refutation in a Dynamic Geometry Context

Leave a comment
Michael de Villiers teaches courses in mathematics and mathematics education at University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. His website features a wealth of Dynamic Geometry-related books, articles, and sketches. He is the author of the Sketchpad activity module Rethinking Proof with The … Continue Reading ››
Conic Sections, Educational Technology, Math Software

A Quartet of Ellipse Constructions

Leave a comment
The 17th-century Dutch mathematician Frans van Schooten developed "hands-on manipulatives" centuries before the term became popular in math education circles. Below are two images of ellipse-drawing linkages from van Schooten's manuscript, Sive de Organica Conicarum Sectionum in Plano Descriptione, Tractatus (A Treatise on Devices for Drawing Conic Sections). Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Geometry, Math Software

Isosceles Triangle Puzzles

Leave a comment
As readers of this blog can probably tell, I like puzzles. I especially enjoy taking ordinary mathematical topics that might not seem puzzle worthy and finding ways to inject some challenge, excitement, and mystery into them. This week, I set my sights on isosceles triangles. It's common to encounter isosceles triangles as supporting players in geometric proofs, but … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Elementary Mathematics, Math Software

Dancing Unknowns: You Haven’t Seen Simultaneous Equations Like These!

Leave a comment
When it comes to simultaneous equations, I like to push the bounds of conventional pedagogical wisdom. In an earlier post, I offered a puzzle in which elementary-age students solve for four unknowns given eight equations. Now, I'd like to present a puzzle that might sound even more audacious: Solving for ten unknowns. … Continue Reading ››
Educational Technology, Geometry, Math Software

The Dynamic Ebbinghaus Illusion

3 Comments
We've all seen amazing examples of illusions, but did you know that there is a fertile community of researchers creating new ones? The Best Illusion of the Year contest and website provide a showcase for celebrating illusions. This year's winner for best illusion was created by Christopher D. Blair, Gideon P. … Continue Reading ››
Advanced Mathematics, Educational Technology, Geometry, Math Software

The Brouwer Fixed Point Theorem

2 Comments
According to Wikipedia, the Brouwer Fixed Point Theorem, named after mathematician and philosopher Luitzen Brouwer, states that "for any continuous function f mapping a compact convex set into itself, there is a point x0 such that f(x0) = x0. This is a deep theorem,  but one aspect of it is lovely, surprising, and entirely approachable by high-school geometry … Continue Reading ››