#teachingmath — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #teachingmath, aggregated by home.social.
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Math teachers when I was a kid: Write down every step. Show your work!
Math teachers today: Use WebAssign, which only evaluates whether you have the right answer in the exact right format and doesn't even give you a space to write down your process.
I've taught coordinated classes where students have both paper assignments and WebAssign. I've watched students carefully write down every step when doing a problem on paper, only to see the exact same students struggle to do everything in their head when they try to answer a question on WebAssign.
Something about sitting in front of a laptop looking at the answer box leads them to not want to write down their steps. I don't know why: I'm not a psychologist. But I do know that the habits students are getting from WebAssign is really bad for doing math.
#FuckWebAssign #TeachingMath -
Math teachers when I was a kid: Write down every step. Show your work!
Math teachers today: Use WebAssign, which only evaluates whether you have the right answer in the exact right format and doesn't even give you a space to write down your process.
I've taught coordinated classes where students have both paper assignments and WebAssign. I've watched students carefully write down every step when doing a problem on paper, only to see the exact same students struggle to do everything in their head when they try to answer a question on WebAssign.
Something about sitting in front of a laptop looking at the answer box leads them to not want to write down their steps. I don't know why: I'm not a psychologist. But I do know that the habits students are getting from WebAssign is really bad for doing math.
#FuckWebAssign #TeachingMath -
Math teachers when I was a kid: Write down every step. Show your work!
Math teachers today: Use WebAssign, which only evaluates whether you have the right answer in the exact right format and doesn't even give you a space to write down your process.
I've taught coordinated classes where students have both paper assignments and WebAssign. I've watched students carefully write down every step when doing a problem on paper, only to see the exact same students struggle to do everything in their head when they try to answer a question on WebAssign.
Something about sitting in front of a laptop looking at the answer box leads them to not want to write down their steps. I don't know why: I'm not a psychologist. But I do know that the habits students are getting from WebAssign is really bad for doing math.
#FuckWebAssign #TeachingMath -
Math teachers when I was a kid: Write down every step. Show your work!
Math teachers today: Use WebAssign, which only evaluates whether you have the right answer in the exact right format and doesn't even give you a space to write down your process.
I've taught coordinated classes where students have both paper assignments and WebAssign. I've watched students carefully write down every step when doing a problem on paper, only to see the exact same students struggle to do everything in their head when they try to answer a question on WebAssign.
Something about sitting in front of a laptop looking at the answer box leads them to not want to write down their steps. I don't know why: I'm not a psychologist. But I do know that the habits students are getting from WebAssign is really bad for doing math.
#FuckWebAssign #TeachingMath -
Math teachers when I was a kid: Write down every step. Show your work!
Math teachers today: Use WebAssign, which only evaluates whether you have the right answer in the exact right format and doesn't even give you a space to write down your process.
I've taught coordinated classes where students have both paper assignments and WebAssign. I've watched students carefully write down every step when doing a problem on paper, only to see the exact same students struggle to do everything in their head when they try to answer a question on WebAssign.
Something about sitting in front of a laptop looking at the answer box leads them to not want to write down their steps. I don't know why: I'm not a psychologist. But I do know that the habits students are getting from WebAssign is really bad for doing math.
#FuckWebAssign #TeachingMath -
RE: https://mathstodon.xyz/@highergeometer/115971813980855257
Very interesting article ... here's the direct link:
https://davidkbutler.xyz/2026/01/28/its-just-subbing-into-formulas/
And I agree entirely "Just subbing" is absolutely not easy. Like running a marathon, it's simple, but absolutely it's not easy.
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RE: https://mathstodon.xyz/@highergeometer/115971813980855257
Very interesting article ... here's the direct link:
https://davidkbutler.xyz/2026/01/28/its-just-subbing-into-formulas/
And I agree entirely "Just subbing" is absolutely not easy. Like running a marathon, it's simple, but absolutely it's not easy.
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RE: https://mathstodon.xyz/@highergeometer/115971813980855257
Very interesting article ... here's the direct link:
https://davidkbutler.xyz/2026/01/28/its-just-subbing-into-formulas/
And I agree entirely "Just subbing" is absolutely not easy. Like running a marathon, it's simple, but absolutely it's not easy.
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RE: https://mathstodon.xyz/@highergeometer/115971813980855257
Very interesting article ... here's the direct link:
https://davidkbutler.xyz/2026/01/28/its-just-subbing-into-formulas/
And I agree entirely "Just subbing" is absolutely not easy. Like running a marathon, it's simple, but absolutely it's not easy.
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RE: https://mathstodon.xyz/@highergeometer/115971813980855257
Very interesting article ... here's the direct link:
https://davidkbutler.xyz/2026/01/28/its-just-subbing-into-formulas/
And I agree entirely "Just subbing" is absolutely not easy. Like running a marathon, it's simple, but absolutely it's not easy.
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In mathematics, we sometimes switch between two viewpoints without distinguishing them explicitly. Which causes confusion.
Think of symmetry transformations: The symmetry group of, say, a regular pentagon, consists of those geometrical transformations that leave it unchanged at the same position. So the pentagon does not change? And still there are different transformations?
The answer is that we view the pentagon in different ways when we speak about the symmetry and about the transformations, say with the light switched on and off. For the transformations, we think of the pentagon with markers written on its corners, say with the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, so that we can speak of the rotation that maps the corner marked n to the place of corner (n + 2) mod 5. For the symmetry, we switch the light off and cannot see the markers: A symmetry transformation is then one in which we cannot feel any difference before and after the transformation.The same idea is also in other contexts, for example with the bound variable in a definite integral: An expression like ∫ₐᵇ 𝑓(𝑥) 𝑑𝑥 is interpreted with “light off”, so that we do not see that x is the integration variable, but in our calculations, the “light“ is “on” and x is an ordinary variable that follows some special rules.
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In mathematics, we sometimes switch between two viewpoints without distinguishing them explicitly. Which causes confusion.
Think of symmetry transformations: The symmetry group of, say, a regular pentagon, consists of those geometrical transformations that leave it unchanged at the same position. So the pentagon does not change? And still there are different transformations?
The answer is that we view the pentagon in different ways when we speak about the symmetry and about the transformations, say with the light switched on and off. For the transformations, we think of the pentagon with markers written on its corners, say with the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, so that we can speak of the rotation that maps the corner marked n to the place of corner (n + 2) mod 5. For the symmetry, we switch the light off and cannot see the markers: A symmetry transformation is then one in which we cannot feel any difference before and after the transformation.The same idea is also in other contexts, for example with the bound variable in a definite integral: An expression like ∫ₐᵇ 𝑓(𝑥) 𝑑𝑥 is interpreted with “light off”, so that we do not see that x is the integration variable, but in our calculations, the “light“ is “on” and x is an ordinary variable that follows some special rules.
-
In mathematics, we sometimes switch between two viewpoints without distinguishing them explicitly. Which causes confusion.
Think of symmetry transformations: The symmetry group of, say, a regular pentagon, consists of those geometrical transformations that leave it unchanged at the same position. So the pentagon does not change? And still there are different transformations?
The answer is that we view the pentagon in different ways when we speak about the symmetry and about the transformations, say with the light switched on and off. For the transformations, we think of the pentagon with markers written on its corners, say with the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, so that we can speak of the rotation that maps the corner marked n to the place of corner (n + 2) mod 5. For the symmetry, we switch the light off and cannot see the markers: A symmetry transformation is then one in which we cannot feel any difference before and after the transformation.The same idea is also in other contexts, for example with the bound variable in a definite integral: An expression like ∫ₐᵇ 𝑓(𝑥) 𝑑𝑥 is interpreted with “light off”, so that we do not see that x is the integration variable, but in our calculations, the “light“ is “on” and x is an ordinary variable that follows some special rules.
-
In mathematics, we sometimes switch between two viewpoints without distinguishing them explicitly. Which causes confusion.
Think of symmetry transformations: The symmetry group of, say, a regular pentagon, consists of those geometrical transformations that leave it unchanged at the same position. So the pentagon does not change? And still there are different transformations?
The answer is that we view the pentagon in different ways when we speak about the symmetry and about the transformations, say with the light switched on and off. For the transformations, we think of the pentagon with markers written on its corners, say with the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, so that we can speak of the rotation that maps the corner marked n to the place of corner (n + 2) mod 5. For the symmetry, we switch the light off and cannot see the markers: A symmetry transformation is then one in which we cannot feel any difference before and after the transformation.The same idea is also in other contexts, for example with the bound variable in a definite integral: An expression like ∫ₐᵇ 𝑓(𝑥) 𝑑𝑥 is interpreted with “light off”, so that we do not see that x is the integration variable, but in our calculations, the “light“ is “on” and x is an ordinary variable that follows some special rules.
-
In mathematics, we sometimes switch between two viewpoints without distinguishing them explicitly. Which causes confusion.
Think of symmetry transformations: The symmetry group of, say, a regular pentagon, consists of those geometrical transformations that leave it unchanged at the same position. So the pentagon does not change? And still there are different transformations?
The answer is that we view the pentagon in different ways when we speak about the symmetry and about the transformations, say with the light switched on and off. For the transformations, we think of the pentagon with markers written on its corners, say with the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, so that we can speak of the rotation that maps the corner marked n to the place of corner (n + 2) mod 5. For the symmetry, we switch the light off and cannot see the markers: A symmetry transformation is then one in which we cannot feel any difference before and after the transformation.The same idea is also in other contexts, for example with the bound variable in a definite integral: An expression like ∫ₐᵇ 𝑓(𝑥) 𝑑𝑥 is interpreted with “light off”, so that we do not see that x is the integration variable, but in our calculations, the “light“ is “on” and x is an ordinary variable that follows some special rules.
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Low prep. High engagement. Deep thinking.
“Would You Rather Math” is math class gold 🏆
🌐 https://eduhacking.com/would-you-rather-math/
#TeachingMath #WouldYouRather #StudentVoice #MathChallenge #EduHacking #EduSky
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Whats wrong with this picture!
I had to check this multiple times as I couldnt believe it first time.
This is Microsoft Windows 10 Calculator.
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Whats wrong with this picture!
I had to check this multiple times as I couldnt believe it first time.
This is Microsoft Windows 10 Calculator.
-
Whats wrong with this picture!
I had to check this multiple times as I couldnt believe it first time.
This is Microsoft Windows 10 Calculator.
-
Whats wrong with this picture!
I had to check this multiple times as I couldnt believe it first time.
This is Microsoft Windows 10 Calculator.
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New account, new introduction!
I'm Beth. I'm a queer mathematician who loves musical theater, webcomics, teaching math, and my cat.
Favorite areas of math: Topology, geometry, and combinatorics.
Favorite musicals: Chess, Into the Woods, Next to Normal, Sunday in the Park With George, Sweeney Todd
Favorite webcomics: this is long enough to get its own post:
https://transfem.social/notes/a1ryogrga5qu00g9
#Introduction #Queer #Mathematician #Math #Musicals #MusicalTheater #MusicalTheatre #Webcomics #Teaching #TeachingMath #Cat #Cats #SillyGoose #Topology #Geometry #Combinatorics #Chess #ChessTheMusical #IntoTheWoods #NextToNormal #SundayInTheParkWithGeorge #SweeneyTodd #PandorasTaleWiki #RainverseWiki -
New account, new introduction!
I'm Beth. I'm a queer mathematician who loves musical theater, webcomics, teaching math, and my cat.
Favorite areas of math: Topology, geometry, and combinatorics.
Favorite musicals: Chess, Into the Woods, Next to Normal, Sunday in the Park With George, Sweeney Todd
Favorite webcomics: this is long enough to get its own post:
https://transfem.social/notes/a1ryogrga5qu00g9
#Introduction #Queer #Mathematician #Math #Musicals #MusicalTheater #MusicalTheatre #Webcomics #Teaching #TeachingMath #Cat #Cats #SillyGoose #Topology #Geometry #Combinatorics #Chess #ChessTheMusical #IntoTheWoods #NextToNormal #SundayInTheParkWithGeorge #SweeneyTodd #PandorasTaleWiki #RainverseWiki -
New account, new introduction!
I'm Beth. I'm a queer mathematician who loves musical theater, webcomics, teaching math, and my cat.
Favorite areas of math: Topology, geometry, and combinatorics.
Favorite musicals: Chess, Into the Woods, Next to Normal, Sunday in the Park With George, Sweeney Todd
Favorite webcomics: this is long enough to get its own post:
https://transfem.social/notes/a1ryogrga5qu00g9
#Introduction #Queer #Mathematician #Math #Musicals #MusicalTheater #MusicalTheatre #Webcomics #Teaching #TeachingMath #Cat #Cats #SillyGoose #Topology #Geometry #Combinatorics #Chess #ChessTheMusical #IntoTheWoods #NextToNormal #SundayInTheParkWithGeorge #SweeneyTodd #PandorasTaleWiki #RainverseWiki -
New account, new introduction!
I'm Beth. I'm a queer mathematician who loves musical theater, webcomics, teaching math, and my cat.
Favorite areas of math: Topology, geometry, and combinatorics.
Favorite musicals: Chess, Into the Woods, Next to Normal, Sunday in the Park With George, Sweeney Todd
Favorite webcomics: this is long enough to get its own post:
https://transfem.social/notes/a1ryogrga5qu00g9
#Introduction #Queer #Mathematician #Math #Musicals #MusicalTheater #MusicalTheatre #Webcomics #Teaching #TeachingMath #Cat #Cats #SillyGoose #Topology #Geometry #Combinatorics #Chess #ChessTheMusical #IntoTheWoods #NextToNormal #SundayInTheParkWithGeorge #SweeneyTodd #PandorasTaleWiki #RainverseWiki -
New account, new introduction!
I'm Beth. I'm a queer mathematician who loves musical theater, webcomics, teaching math, and my cat.
Favorite areas of math: Topology, geometry, and combinatorics.
Favorite musicals: Chess, Into the Woods, Next to Normal, Sunday in the Park With George, Sweeney Todd
Favorite webcomics: this is long enough to get its own post:
https://transfem.social/notes/a1ryogrga5qu00g9
#Introduction #Queer #Mathematician #Math #Musicals #MusicalTheater #MusicalTheatre #Webcomics #Teaching #TeachingMath #Cat #Cats #SillyGoose #Topology #Geometry #Combinatorics #Chess #ChessTheMusical #IntoTheWoods #NextToNormal #SundayInTheParkWithGeorge #SweeneyTodd #PandorasTaleWiki #RainverseWiki -
I gave an excellent #math lesson this week that details the relationship between exponential growth and #economics and #power structures.
The basic idea can be summed up with some #desmos graphs:
The income of a working person who starts at $40000 a year and gets regular yearly raises of $1000 can be shown on the red line.
The income from a million-dollar investment at 4% per year compounded annually is given on the blue line. They both appear linear and similar. #teachingmath #algebra
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I gave an excellent #math lesson this week that details the relationship between exponential growth and #economics and #power structures.
The basic idea can be summed up with some #desmos graphs:
The income of a working person who starts at $40000 a year and gets regular yearly raises of $1000 can be shown on the red line.
The income from a million-dollar investment at 4% per year compounded annually is given on the blue line. They both appear linear and similar. #teachingmath #algebra
-
I gave an excellent #math lesson this week that details the relationship between exponential growth and #economics and #power structures.
The basic idea can be summed up with some #desmos graphs:
The income of a working person who starts at $40000 a year and gets regular yearly raises of $1000 can be shown on the red line.
The income from a million-dollar investment at 4% per year compounded annually is given on the blue line. They both appear linear and similar. #teachingmath #algebra
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@dandersod Another thought about completing the square: It is helpful to know explicitly the following variant of the binomial formula,
\[ x^2 + a x + \tfrac14 a^2 = (x + \tfrac12 a)^2, \]
because it shows more clearly which number is needed when completing the square.
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What's the single most important skill for a teacher to master? I claim it's the ability to remember what it was like to not yet understand the material you're presenting.
https://positionofprivilege.org/the-trouble-with-what-you-already-know/
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What's the single most important skill for a teacher to master? I claim it's the ability to remember what it was like to not yet understand the material you're presenting.
https://positionofprivilege.org/the-trouble-with-what-you-already-know/
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My 8 y.o. was learning about probability at school and his teacher was getting the students to come up with examples of 0 chance/impossible.
"What example did you give?"
"Oh, I said that there is 0 chance of a volcano erupting potato gems...."
#TeachingMath #FromTheMouthsOfKids #Probability -
My 8 y.o. was learning about probability at school and his teacher was getting the students to come up with examples of 0 chance/impossible.
"What example did you give?"
"Oh, I said that there is 0 chance of a volcano erupting potato gems...."
#TeachingMath #FromTheMouthsOfKids #Probability -
@janicenovakowski Hey Janice ... welcome!
A hint to get started ... free text search doesn't work, so it's worth using HashTags so people can find you and your posts. It's a kind of #SemanticSearch.
#TeachingMath
#Education
#Vancouver
#Canada
#K12
... that sort of thing. -
@janicenovakowski Hey Janice ... welcome!
A hint to get started ... free text search doesn't work, so it's worth using HashTags so people can find you and your posts. It's a kind of #SemanticSearch.
#TeachingMath
#Education
#Vancouver
#Canada
#K12
... that sort of thing. -
@janicenovakowski Hey Janice ... welcome!
A hint to get started ... free text search doesn't work, so it's worth using HashTags so people can find you and your posts. It's a kind of #SemanticSearch.
#TeachingMath
#Education
#Vancouver
#Canada
#K12
... that sort of thing. -
@janicenovakowski Hey Janice ... welcome!
A hint to get started ... free text search doesn't work, so it's worth using HashTags so people can find you and your posts. It's a kind of #SemanticSearch.
#TeachingMath
#Education
#Vancouver
#Canada
#K12
... that sort of thing.