I say big change is not only possible, it is inevitable. The only question is which way the winds of change will blow. To get there will require that we think big. Instead of settling for small local change, assume that big global change is possible, then work to make it happen. As Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
If you want to know how solve a problem in math education, look at how the analogous problem is solved in language education. Here is a list of six best practices from language education that lead to revolutionary changes in math education.
GEB is a feast for the intellectually adventurous, but it can be tough going for many because it calls upon knowledge of so many fields, especially music. So for those of you who want to hear Bach’s music referenced in the book, here is a chapter by chapter collection of links to performances and articles about the pieces. Where possible, I've linked to performances that include visualizations of the musical score, to make the music easier to follow.
Saturday Apr 22 I hosted an all-day hands-on workshop on how to make your own mathematical puzzles. Here are handouts from the event so you can try it at home, and reasons why puzzles are an essential part of math education.
In the movie The Martian, author Andy Weir and director Ridley Scott do a magnificent job of turning a series of word problems into a riveting adventure. Here are five lessons all math teachers can learn from The Martian.
An original puzzle canon in honor of Gödel, Escher, Bach author Douglas Hofstadter's birthday. Can you solve it? Answer posted on Bach's birthday, March 31.
In the best-selling business book Good to Great, Jim Collins analyzes companies that have turned from average to superstars, and found that dogged adherence to a simple well-chosen strategy wins the race. Here's why.
Math education is a leaky boat that is engulfed in flames and sailing in the wrong direction. There is so much wrong that it is hard to know where to start. And fixing just one problem won't save the ship...
Ambigrams are words that read in more than one way — like WOW, which is MOM upside down. Only a few words are natural ambigrams, but if you stretch the letter shapes, almost any word can become an ambigram.
