THE MATHEMATICS ENTHUSIAST

Volume 5 #2&3, 2008

Editorial Information

0. Bharath Sriraman
EDITORIAL: 2 to 3- An omnibus of features & Policy issues in mathematics education

FEATURE ARTICLES

1. The Brachistochrone Problem: Mathematics for a Broad Audience via a Large Context Problem
Jeff Babb & James Currie (Canada)

2. History of Mathematics in Mathematics Education: a Saussurean Perspective
Michael Fried (Israel)

3. Comparison of Geometric Figures
Spyros Glenis (Greece)

4. “Obeying a rule”: Ludwig Wittgenstein and the foundations of Set Theory
Giorgio T. Bagni (Italy)

5. How can science history contribute to the development of new proposals in the teaching of the notion of derivatives?
Arnaud Mayrargue (France)

6. Incoherence of a concept image and erroneous conclusions in the case of differentiability
Antti Viholainen (Finland)

7. Chess and problem solving involving patterns
Dores Ferreira & Pedro Palhares (Portugal)

8. Associative Operations on a Three-Element Set
Friðrik Diego & Kristín Halla Jónsdóttir (Iceland)

9. A Case Study Using Soft Systems Methodology in the Evolution of a Mathematics Module
Jon Warwick (UK)

10. Mathematics and the World: What do Teachers Recognize as Mathematics in Real World Practice?
Barbara Garii & Lillian Okumu (New York, USA)

11. Mathematics for Middle School Teachers: Choices, Successes, and Challenges
Linda Martin & Kristin Umland (New Mexico, USA)

12. Inverses – why we teach and why we need talk more about it more often!
Woong Lim (Texas, USA)

13. Magic Math Cards
Steve Humble (UK)

MONTANA FEATURE ARTICLES

History of Logarithms and Insurance Mathematics
14. Chopping Logs: A Look at the History and Uses of Logarithms
Rafael Villarreal-Calderon (Missoula, Montana, USA)

15. Early Insurance Mechanisms and Their Mathematical Foundations
Amy Minto (Missoula, Montana, USA)

DIALOGUE ON NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

16. Main Points of Objections to the “No Child Left Behind”
Mike O’Lear (Missoula, Montana) & Bettina Dahl Sondergaard (Denmark)

CRITICAL NOTICE ON THE NATIONAL MATHEMATICS ADVISORY PANEL REPORT
Guest Edited by Brian Greer (Portland, USA)

17. Guest Editorial: Reaction to the Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel
Brian Greer (Portland, USA)

18. Mathematical Cognition and the Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel: A Critical, Cultural-historical Activity Theoretic Analysis
Wolff-Michael Roth (Canada)

19. E(race)ing Race from a National Conversation on Mathematics Teaching and Learning: The National Mathematics Advisory Panel as White Institutional Space
Danny Bernard Martin (Chicago, USA)

20. Three Strikes
Tom O’Brien & Marianne Smith (USA)

21. The Political Context of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel
Eric (Rico) Gutstein (Chicago, USA )

22. Algebra for all?
Brian Greer (Portland, USA)

FEATURED BOOK EXCERPT

23. Introduction to Thinking as communicating
Anna Sfard (Israel)

In Sfard, A. (2008). Thinking as communicating: Human development, the growth of discourses, and mathematizing. (pp. xiii - xix) Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Reprinted with kind permission from Cambridge University Press. 2008© Cambridge University Press

24. Meet the Authors

24. New titles in mathematics education