I'm quite handy with the (standard) Equation Editor in Word. I've taken a look at the Mathtype website, but can't really see what advantage the 62 dollar p/y tool will bring me.

Is there anyone who can shine a light on why I should (or shouldn't) get this Add-in?

Hi everyone. I have an obsessive personality and I have decided that my next one will be maths. I want to learn all of it but, to be fair, I suck at it. Nonetheless l am willing to make the effort. Can you please show me a path, some sources to begin learning above middle school level mathematics? Thank you.

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if somebody could clarify this for me: I know we have a complex exponential, but I am wondering if there exists a complex power function - or is it the case that the complex exponential sort of “covers” anything we would need for complex power function?

Thanks so so much.

Sorry for the length of this post, but I really want some advice.
I am a freshman in physics. I am confused if I should or not switch to mathematics for next year onwards. We get only one chance to switch in my uni (In India) and there is no double major option.

Please read the following points and offer some advice if you can:

1. I wish to pursue a career in THEORETICAL physics or mathematics. I am very sure I don't want to go to experimental physics (Also, I hate lab courses and the ones in my Uni are very unrevised).
2. I find the lack of mathematical rigor in physics texts and courses (of undergraduate level) annoying often times.(I know the ‘hand waviness’ is to carry on faster with the relevant physics discussion, but still this is the case for me).
3. I am not sure anymore if I currently love physics because of the curiousity to know how things work or because of the impressive mathematical descriptions.
4. I find myself curious about any random mathematical idea. But I am not curious about physics research which are of the “applied” kind( like condensed matter physics).I am only very keen about the fundamental ideas.
5. I am kind of bad and slow at computation/symbol manipulation in maths. This is what I don’t like in maths. (eg:-I self studied a real analysis book. I liked it very much and found the exercises as nothing too difficult. On the other hand, I am bad at/kind of dislike evaluating integrals. I also have trouble remembering long formulas.)
6. I am also interested in mathematical logic and philosophy of mathematics.

I HAVE THESE QUESTIONS:
a) Is enjoyment and performance in higher mathematics dependent on the ability to compute and do smart algebraic manipulations (skills similar to evaluating integrals)? Will point (5) trouble me if I choose mathematics?
b) How to know if maths won’t become too abstract for me? (note that I like physics too)
c) I like proofs as of now. But is all of higher maths just proofs? How to know if it will become too repetitive?
d) Any topic/book I can try to gain some perspective on the questions above? (I am about to start abstract algebra)
e) Is a maths UG better than a physics UG for a THEORETICAL physics career? How feasible is switching to physics for PG after UG in maths and vice versa? (Note that we have no electives in non-major subjects after the second year)
f) Is being a mathematician or theoretical physicist harder? (In terms of- research difficulty, freedom in research, difficulty of getting the job, funding)
Kindly answer atleast some of these questions.

Do you think that algorithms and procedures are bad for kids to learn?

There seems to be a trend in recent math education away from algorithms and procedures and towards understanding and math discovery. The podcast "Math is Figureoutable" feels pretty strongly against algorithms for example.

As a math student I often found that understanding how to do things often came well before a deep understanding of why we did them. Even if I was shown the derivation of a formula I often didn't have enough context and familiarity with the math to be able to understand it, but I could use the resulting formula/procedure to solve problems and recognize when to use it.

The Math Sorcerer made a recent video called "Stop Trying to Understand" which seems pretty firmly in the camp of - learn how to do the math you're learning even if you don't fully understand why it works. I pretty much agree with this and have been guilty of letting myself get hung up on trying to understand something deeply rather than just studying and grinding it until it starts to click.

I think that understanding is great, obviously, but I think that not teaching algorithms and procedures to kids is doing them a disservice. Being able to add, subtract, multiply and divide arbitrarily large numbers by hand is empowering for kids, they shouldn't have to be reliant on a calculator or have to think of their own creative (often very inefficient) approach each time.

What are your thoughts?

So I just took aleks for the third time… I need to make a 76 and I made a 73. The problem is I don’t really feel like I got that many questions right, that score is 21 points above my last score, and a lot of the questions on that exam were questions I hadn’t really seen on my previous attempts. So my question is: do the aleks scores stack? What I mean by that is do they take your previous score and assess what topics you haven’t yet gotten right, and by getting those problems right they just add to your previous score? (I know the wording I used might be kind of confusing but I’m not sure how else to say this)

During my academic career, we always called it “fat-fingering” when you hit the wrong key, but I went to say it recently and had to stop myself cause I realized how inappropriate it is. I recognize that I should have noticed this sooner and have been looking for alternatives that are easy/quick to say when a student asks what they did wrong and it was just a typo.

What I liked about the old term was that those two words connote that the student made a common mistake and need to slow down, double check their work, etc vs saying all that and still having some students just hear “you did it wrong” and get defensive blaming the calculator. I know that’s a whole separate issue but I’d rather tackle the easier one for now lol any suggestions?

Thanks!

I have been out of school for 10 years, no college besides basic electronics course, some IT certificates, and I have a tech job where I do program quite a bit here and there. Highest math I have done was algebra 2 in school. Where should I start in picking math up again? Textbook recommendations? Reasons: I want to learn some discrete math or combinatorics to help me think about programming in a better way. I want to practice math I can apply. Reason 2: I want to improve my logical and analytical thinking as I feel that's something I lack a bit of in my introspective sessions. thus I want to make doing some math a part of my weekly routine.

His balls from very far away due to his direction giving him a shadow

Is anyone using SBG -standards based grading- in their HS math class? I’d love to see your rubrics. I feel like we are doing what works for ELA and it doesn’t fit math! TIA!

Im starting a new role in the fall teaching math to newcomers who are just beginning to learn English. I’ll be doing 9th or 10th grade. Anyone else teach a similar class? I’d love to share ideas!

Thanks to youtube, I have a young kid who is absolutely mesmerized by how non-euclidean space works. He really likes books, so I usually try to find books at the library that go with his interests but I'm struggling to find any on this topic that are for kids. He's 6 and his reading level is around 4th-5th grade. He enjoys pictures and diagrams.

He does have a book called Life on the Infinite Farm (a huge favorite if his) which sort of talks a bit about non-euclidean space at a very introductory level, but doesn't really delve into any details about it. Any other suggestions?

I’m a first year financial math student at a university that is reputable for business programs. This program was my second choice as I didn’t get into my first one. My financial math program is also with a management minor, in which I have to take a few business courses a year.

I love math and finance mixed together. I Love equations with Dollar signs. Would not say I’m godly at it but my passion keeps me going. I’ve always looked into being an actuary or investment banker, or someone who just works at a bank in the past few years, but never believed in myself enough to apply to very good schools … except for one in which I did not get accepted.

I’ve been reading a lot of Reddit posts and it’s been scaring me into not going down this career path because of the fact that I don’t go to a reputable school for this career path. I will have to be very smart, and take exams. However, now I’m left wondering if my degree is useless or not. I’m not sure what else I can do with this degree now. Having an existential crises.

If anyone can help me out that’d be great.

I am currently looking at master programs as I work full time and been wanting to teach math classes at a community college part time.

I currently have a bachelors degree in math and been looking at dual programs for an MBA and MS in Data Science as this is more related to my full time career vs pursing a Masters in Math/Math Education. I was wondering if it is possible to teach at least the entry level math classes with a MS in Data Science. I am currently in California and I have looked at some community colleges nearby minimum requirements and they have the equivalent part next to the degrees and was wondering if that would apply here.

I appreciate any help or advice with this and I do apologize if this question has been asked quite a bit.

We are a small team of math interventionists who have created an app to give more teachers math intervention superpowers. The idea is to provide step-by-step guidance and easy-to-use tools for teachers who are new to math intervention, and reduce the workload for experienced teachers. Too many kids who would benefit from Tier 3 math intervention never get it! We hope to change that. Are there any K-3 teachers willing to give us honest feedback in exchange for free access to the app for their school?

Here is the link: https://www.levebee.com

My son (9) loves math & sciences and is always asking me to tell him math/science facts and anecdotes. I got him Randall Munro's "What If", "What If 2", and "How To Do It", and he loves them. These books approach science with humor and imagination, and are really exceptionally good. I'd appreciate any recommendations for books that focus on math, written in a similar vein. Thanks.

I'm working on putting together a couple of resources for teachers (and partially for parents) on the intersection of math education and board games. I'm turning to the community with 2 things:

1. So far this is the article that I have on math board games. Although its Saturday, this is not meant to be a promotion, rather a request for comments, feedback, critique from teachers. Do you find this useful? What do you miss? What advice would you give to other teachers and parents?

2. Right now I'm diving into math games that can be used in classroom settings. I basically only found this subreddit where specifically the classroom usage of games is discussed and it's not much. What are your considerations when you introduce math games in the classroom? I will share my ideas so far in this thread but I don't want to steer the conversation early on.

I'm preparing for math tutoring by studying how textbooks and Kahn academy teach the concepts. I got to the section in Kahn academy, in Algebra 2, teaching polynomial identities. For instance, 2(x-3) = 2x - 6 is an identity. They will write something like 2(x-3) = 2x-5 and ask the student to determine if it's an identity. In this case you can just manipulate the equation to -6 = -5 and know that's nonsense, but some of the examples on Kahn are more complicated. For example, after manipulation you get something like x^2+y^3=x^3+1. At that point Kahn will stop immediately and say "well, obviously THAT's not an identity", but I can see a confused student not sure about it. A student can't rely just on the left and right sides being different, because they don't know if it needs further manipulation. I could teach them to plug in test values, but that's awkward unless the left and right sides have a very similar form and it's easy to spot counterexamples. In my complex example above, Sal Kahn can see immediately that certain values of x and y will create a false statement, but I'm not sure how to teach students when to stop and when to continue manipulation.

I'm a first year teacher currently teaching science at a Title 1 Intermediate school.

Due to reconfiguration, I needed to find another teaching position for next year, and just got slotted in for a 7th grade math position (at what is arguably a much, much better school).

Anything I should immediately start doing in preparation? Websites or resources I should start hoarding? General tips or advice?

I've almost survived my first year... let's go year two.

Lay it on me, fam.