Category: factors

All Factors Considered

I have only been teaching for 2 years, but am already beginning to encounter the recursive nature of the profession. I have had several repeat classes in my 4 semesters of teaching, and they require the achievement of the same outcomes. This does not bother me, in general, because I am excited to see the improvement in my teaching. There is one unit, however, that has already frustrated me. Its ability to sabotage creative exploits is unrivalled throughout the mathematics curriculum; I am speaking of the unit on polynomial factoring.

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Manipulative Revelation

I completed school before manipulatives were in vogue. I am still not sure that they are today (where I teach). I know that my department’s manipulatives are locked up in a cupboard. In this Potter-like clandestine state, I didn’t even learn of their existence until the end of the year. I was moving classrooms, and found a pile of algebra tiles that the previous teacher had left behind. I didn’t discover that I had manipulatives available to me until, ironically, I inquired where I could dispose of this rather large supply of algebra tiles. When I opened the doors of the cupboard, my eyes were bombarded with a vibrant display of primary colours; it is the bright reds, blues, and yellows that initially deter high school students from using these instruments. It creates an aura of immaturity and frivolity. They are coloured in such a way that one may expect students to pack their algebra tiles up neatly and proceed to recess or nap time. Kindergarten students play with blocks; algebra deals with “big-kid’ stuff–no use for toys.

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Odd Factors

I am teaching 5 new classes next year. I am trying not to think of it that way; rather, I am taking it one step at a time. Unfortunately, most of these steps need to be taken during my summer vacation. This isn’t the end of the world; I am fairly stationary, and enjoy a mental workout as much as some enjoy time on the beach or in a foreign shopping mall. I began my massive preparation marathon with a unit for Grade 10 Precalculus on factoring. As I dove into the curriculum and textbooks, I found myself actually enjoying the intricacies of the topic…nerdy, I know!

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Fractions From Digits

This week marked my baptism by fire into the twitter world. It was not long until I was neck deep in tweets, favourites, re-tweets, and followers. The eternal nerd awoke inside me when I was confronted with my first NCTM “Problem of the Day”. A simple, yet dangerously deep, question was posed. Wanting to cement my reputation as a responsible twit, I sat down and began to tinker with the theory.

The question was as follows:

How many different fractions can you write using only the digits 1,2,3 & 4?

Be sure to include fractions greater than 1.