Does knowing about Descartes help students understand the Cartesian coordinate system? Will teaching students the origin of the term parabola help them understand the mathematical importance of parabolas and other related matters? A team of mathematicians at Black Hills State University were curious about such matters, so they decided to investigate what the effects of including historical modules...

We have heard of calling someone "a total zero" as an insult, but what does "zero" really mean? This thoughtful and informative Website from Dr. Hossein Arsham, Wright Distinguished Research Professor of Statistics and Management Science at the University of Baltimore, discusses the history and philosophy of zero. Items presented include arguments for and against dividing by zero, the ideas of...

James Tanton's website offers a number of resources for math teachers, including instructional videos, puzzles, essays, and more. Tanton is a mathematics scholar who has taught high school and college students and authored a number of instructional resources. Visitors will find free material in the Think cool math! and Think curriculum! sections. These materials are designed to facilitate student...

This online tutorial is intended for college students taking an early course in mathematical optimization or linear differential equations. Although it is written by a professor of economics, little economic theory is presented. This keeps the material centered on the mathematical aspects of optimization and differential equations, which have a wide range of scientific applications. The text is...

This offering from ed.gov, offers this comprehensive and downloadable kit on teaching math to your children. There are several activities to do at home, the grocery store, and on the go, as well as a glossary of related terms. In consideration of "our increasingly technological world," the foreward to this publication argues that, "To ensure that our children are ready for high school and on track...

The Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IPAM) at UCLA seeks to "make connections between a broad spectrum of mathematicians and scientists, to launch new collaborations, to better inform mathematicians and scientists about interdisciplinary problems, and to broaden the range of applications in which mathematics is used." The website provides information on the institute's programs and...

An instructor at Boise State University offers his book on elementary algebra for middle school, high school, and college students. The book spans nine chapters and covers both pre-algebra and algebra topics. Clear explanations of polynomials, systems of equations, and exponential expressions are just a few concepts addressed in the book. A particularly useful chapter provides some suggestions for...

The University of Michigan Library offers this helpful list of web resources for teaching mathematics. This list includes items that will appeal to K-12 mathematics instructors, adult educators, and college level mathematics instructors alike. Resources are divided into three categories: resources for teachers (most resources fall into this category), resources for algebra, and resources for...

University of Southampton's Applied Mathematics Group conducts research in a variety of topics such as liquid crystals, phase field models of solidification, hyperasymptotics, fluid dynamics and the mathematical modelling of industrial problems. A link is also provided to the General Relativity group homepage, which collaborates with the Applied Mathematics group to investigate the application of...

This collection of over 30 Java applets is quite impressive, both in content and in presentation. Operated at a university in Belgium, Visualization of and Experimentation with Statistical Concepts (VESTAC) is the title of the project that developed these educational tools. The applets are very intricate, with many functions and graphical capabilities; they are therefore quite large and can take...