Search focused Mathematics content

1+ hour, 22+ min ago (487+ words) You can adapt the curriculum you have to create rich tasks that invite reasoning and build students" problem-solving skills. I know that teachers play the most significant role in any learning situation, and studies have shown that investing in teacher learning is more important than investing in new curriculum, books'or anything else. I also know that the best learning outcomes happen when teachers have autonomy to choose tasks, adapt tasks, and bring in new tasks. But what should you be looking for when choosing tasks? And how do you adapt tasks to meet the interests and needs of the students in your class? So many math teachers are told to use textbooks that are filled with short, narrow questions that don"t interest students or create opportunities for deep or critical thinking. I started my career as a math teacher…...

13+ hour, 21+ min ago (341+ words) The initial release includes English Language, English Literature, Mathematics and the three single sciences " Biology, Chemistry and Physics with additional subjects will be introduced in the coming months BBC Bitesize, in collaboration with CCEA (Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment), will publish GCSE past papers in six key subjects for revision purposes, starting Tuesday 2 December. This marks the first time GCSE past papers have been made available via BBC Bitesize in Northern Ireland; the second nation in the UK to provide papers following on from a rollout in England. The initial release includes English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, and the three single sciences " Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Additional subjects will be introduced in the coming months. These are popular GCSE subject choices, mirroring the support offered by BBC Bitesize for the AQA, Edexcel, and OCR boards across the UK. Alongside…...

13+ hour, 47+ min ago (253+ words) Watch the recursive beauty of Laplace expansion unfold Signs alternate: cofactor Cij = (-1)i+j " Mij Step 2: The remaining elements form the minor matrix Struggling to understand how determinants really work? This interactive visualizer transforms the abstract cofactor expansion method into a clear, visual experience. Instead of memorizing formulas, you'll see the mathematical logic unfold. Watch as each matrix element gets circled, its row and column crossed out, and a smaller submatrix emerges. The recursive beauty of determinants becomes obvious as large problems break down into smaller, manageable pieces. No more confusion about signs'the checkerboard pattern is right there. No more mystery about minors'you'll see exactly which elements remain. The calculator automatically finds the smartest expansion path (choosing rows/columns with the most zeros), teaching you strategic thinking alongside computation. Pause at any step to study the process at your own…...

23+ hour, 22+ min ago (778+ words) I don't typically write responses to other opinion pieces, but there was one two weeks ago about new techniques in elementary math education that has inspired me. The main complaint was that there are too many different techniques taught for, say, multidigit addition and not enough emphasis on standard skills. There was a casual comparison to the improvements in teaching reading, especially the emphasis on literacy by the third grade. It is now widely recognized that reading is fundamental to all learning in mid- to late elementary school. Reading is used in learning history, science and math as well as literature. A student who cannot read by the end of third grade may start to fall behind in other subjects. That connection between reading and other subjects, however, is unique. In elementary school math, there is no equivalent. That is, if…...

1+ day, 12+ hour ago (184+ words) I read Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose's account of the Lewis and Clark expedition," several years ago [1], and now I'm listening to it as an audio book. The first time I read the book I glossed over the accounts of the expedition's celestial observations. Now I'm more curious about the details. The most common way to determine one's location from sextant measurements is Hilare's method [2], developed in 1875. But the Lewis and Clark expedition took place between 1804 and 1806. So how did the expedition calculate geolocation from their astronomical measurements? In short, they didn't. They collected data for others to turn into coordinates later. Ambrose explains The question remains how someone back in civilization would have calculated coordinates from the observations when the expedition returned. This article by Robert N. Bergantino addresses this question in detail. [1] At least 17 years ago. I don't keep a…...

1+ day, 15+ hour ago (89+ words) Maximizing the Impact of Universal Screeners to Support Student Learning A Position of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Universal screeners should be used to identify students who need additional support. Universal screeners should be used in conjunction with other tools to help make decisions. Universal screeners can be used to determine unfinished learning. Ketterlin-Geller, L. R., Shivraj, P., Basaraba, D., & Schielack, J. (2018). Universal screening for algebra readiness in middle school: Why, what, and does it work? Investigations in Mathematics Learning, 11(2), 120133....

1+ day, 23+ hour ago (900+ words) The Pennsylvania Education Department released the latest round of PSSA and Keystone test results for 2025. Lehigh Valley schools placed near the top and close to the bottom of the lists for math and English proficiency. The PSSAs are taken for math and English by students at grade levels 3 through 8, while the Keystone exam is taken by students at grade level 11. About 704,000 students took the elementary level exams and about 122,000 11th graders took the Keystone exam, which adds a biology component in addition to the language arts and algebra portions. The results were mixed throughout Pennsylvania and in the Lehigh Valley. Statewide, elementary level math scores inched up by 1.3 percentage points in math, but English proficiency dropped 4.5 percent, to 48.5 percent in this year's round of tests. The 36,000 primary school pupils tested in the 17 public school districts in the Lehigh Valley echoed those…...

3+ day, 7+ hour ago (447+ words) The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Saturday, November 29, 2025, released the provisional results for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates, triggering alarm with a catastrophic decline in performance across key core subjects, particularly Mathematics. Data released by WAEC shows a staggering drop in the percentage of candidates achieving grades A1 to C6 in Core Mathematics, falling by nearly 18 percentage points compared to the previous year. The results also unveiled a disturbing integrity crisis, with over 7,000 candidates penalised and nearly 40 educational personnel facing criminal charges for exam malpractice. The results were contained in a press release by John Kapi, Head of Public Relations at WAEC and represent only the Ghana version. Catastrophic Slump in Core Subjects The comparative statistics from the four-year trend analysis (2022-2025) confirm a sharp reversal of gains made in previous years, casting a shadow over…...

3+ day, 10+ hour ago (521+ words) A zero knowledge proof (ZKP) answers a question without revealing anything more than answer. For example, a digital signature proves your possession of a private key without revealing that key. You can think of Fermat's primality test as a zero knowledge proof. For example, I can convince you that the following number is composite without telling you what its factors are. Fermat's little theorem'says that if'n'is a prime and'b'is not a multiple of'n, then A number'b such that bn1" 1 (mod'n) is a proof that'n is not prime, i.e. n is composite. So, for example,'b = 2 is a proof that'n above is composite. This can be verified very quickly using Python: I tried the smallest possible base [1] and it worked. In general you may have to try a few bases. And for a few rare numbers (Carmichael numbers) you won't be able to…...

4+ day, 1+ hour ago (595+ words) A children's mathematics camp will host part of an international competition on the island next year. Planet Math will hold the trials in February, with successful youngsters getting the chance to compete in the Spirit of Math Global Round in Canada in the summer. Sergio Pitcher, one of the founders of Planet Math, said it meant a lot to host the round in Bermuda because it could showcase the island's talent. He added: "It's going to be an opportunity for young mathematicians to shine not just locally in Bermuda but to shine on an international, global stage. "You'll represent Bermuda and show the world what Bermuda has for mathematicians." Spirit of Math involves children going head-to-head in their home countries and proving their logical mathematical skills before travelling to Ontario, Canada to compete. The competition is open to pupils from…...