Posted by MiP • March 3, 2009
"For most kids, algebra is an unbreakable wall of nonsensical problems and strange symbols. For me, a decidedly right-brained person with all my strengths in creativity, math is near impossible. However, I have learned it all depends on the teacher. A great teacher can make seemingly impossible problems easy and a bad teacher can make every variable and signs vanish in a fog that obscures even the easiest problems. My math teacher, who has taught me in both seventh and eighth grade, has a reputation for being one of the "impenetrable fog" teachers, so throughout the first semester of seventh grade, I struggled with math class.
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Posted by MiP • February 19, 2009
The Math inquiries Project wants 8th grade algebra students to understand that what they’re learning has a lifetime of utility. From time to time, we’ll profile an accomplished, successful person to see how he or she deploys math on the job. This interview is with Jacqueline Berg, who has her own design business in the San Francisco Bay Area. Jacqueline has diverse talents – from designing and making award-winning quilts to creating original jewelry; she also designs interior spaces for both residential and commercial projects.
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Posted by MiP • October 23, 2008
I hope your visit to the MathMirror™ is both enjoyable and educational. We are especially enthusiastic about what our eighth grade focus groups are telling us about Algebra. Our teen participants have great ideas, many of which appear on this site. We hope to have video pieces for our visitors to listen to and watch very soon. We think this contribution, especially from the students, will speed up needed changes in the conversation about Algebra, giving it a more positive tone and creating an opportunity for students to be excited about—and committed to—succeeding in their math education.
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Posted by MiP • September 1, 2008
Question: What do an iPod, video game, delivery truck, hybrid car, parking cop and stoplight have in common?
Answer: They all deploy algebra.
Yes, algebra.
It's everywhere.
And that's the subject of an enchanting back-to-school story that appeared on page 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle on August 25.
Blending history and written in the wake of California's mandate that all eighth graders take algebra, the story by Jill Tucker makes the case that this middle-school math subject improves critical thinking, offers a gateway to college, and leads to a good career.
We agree.
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Welcome to the MathMirror website. We want MathMirror to help teens learn to love algebra, to understand it, and have no fears about it. And we want our energies at the Math inquiries Project® to be part of this happening. Our goal is to present new and emerging ideas about math and algebra, along with our invaluable and penetrating focus group findings and videos with eighth grade students, parents and teachers.
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