Mental mathematics - under various guises - is a skill of rapid calculations; arithmetic calculations being the most common variety. Those who possess an innate aptitude for mental mathematics are known as human calculators. They may not even know why their methods work, but with a few rare exceptions, those methods have a simple algebraic explanation. Practice and understanding of the basics help the regular folks who were not born the human calculators acquire the necessary skill. But is th

As children, we all loved mathematics and working out puzzles. Mathematics was an all-important tool to answer questions, like "How many," "Who is older," "Which is larger." And puzzles were of course everywhere. We did not stop to check a dictionary to ascertain that a puzzle is something, such as a toy or game, that tests one's ingenuity. We did not care about our ingenuity a little bit, but just thrived on learning new things and skills that the nature made us

By Joe Pagano Not even signed numbers cause as many problems as those two-headed monsters called fractions. But why so much trouble? Maybe because fractions have a dual nature, that is, they consist of the numerator and denominator, and most of us are poor at multitasking. But did you know that once you master fractions, you learn to handle multiple tasks as well? This is one of the benefits of mastering these pesky little creatures. In my humble opinion, I would venture to say that any k

By Gaurav Tekriwal Today you can define mental math in various different ways. Some would say, memorizing times table and remembering the solutions can form the part of mental mathematics. Some would say ability to perform simple calculations in your head can be mental mathematics. The web dictionary defines mental mathematics as "Computing an exact answer without using pencil and paper or other physical aids." Today there are five methods available to learn and practice menta

By Robyn Whyte This article is part of a four part series that discusses how to teach reading and the specialized approach needed within the guided reading philosophy. Simply put, guided reading has many aspects but is a driving philosophy about how to teach children to read. Adopted in most parts of the developed world (Canada, U.S. (midwest), England, New Zealand and Australia, guided reading is now one of the most utilized ways to teach reading. What self-knowledge? When a child en

By Lisa Harp Reading is a difficult process. The brain must be doing several things at once in order to make sense out of the written word. Many things can go wrong when a student is learning to read. Kids who struggle with reading struggle with life. If there is just one skill you can spend time on to help a student succeed in school and life, it would be reading. The biggest mistake most people make is to try to teach a student to read in the same method they were taught or by using tra

Mechanics of human vision that underlies the theory of RDS is quite simple. Focusing the eyes behind the screen makes our brain believe there is a depth separation in the image and interpret the visual signals accordingly. The theory of RDS could be found at the above mentioned sites. However, the fact is that, the simplicity of the theory notwithstanding, some people manage to see those 3D images, while others do not. My wife is of the latter kind. With all my cajoling and explanations she

In the previous article I began telling the story of an unusual high school geometry course run at the Ohio State University in 1930s. The course has been designed and taught by Prof. Harold F. Fawcett who later published an account in The Nature of Proof (NCTM, 13th Yearbook, Reprint 1995). To quote from the book, There has probably never been a time in the history of American education when the development of critical and reflective thought was not recognized as desirable outcome of the seco

Once upon a time, at the first meeting of what was supposed to be a high school geometry course, the teacher surprised the students with the announcement: There is no great hurry about beginning our regular work in geometry and since the problem of awards is one which is soon to be considered by the entire school body I suggest we give some preliminary consideration to the proposition that 'awards should be granted for outstanding achievement in the

Parrondo's Paradox is a double shocker. Counter to common intuition, it is possible to mix two losing games into a winning combination. This is a good news. But do not rub your hands just yet. The theory does not apply to casino games. Learning about it all must be its own reward. On the positive side but shaky ground, Sandra Blakeslee reported last year in NY Times that Dr. Sergei Maslov from Brookhaven National Laboratory had shown that if an investor simultaneously shared capital between two