M 175T, Fall 2007

FIRST ASSIGNMENT

I. Do this by Friday, September 7:
  1. Go to the Problems with a Point website at http://www2.edc.org/MathProblems/.
  2. Read the main page.
  3. Click on Teacher Resources. From there, read the Letter to the Teacher, Goals of Problems with a Point, Overview of Mathematics Problems, and Preparation for Use. (Optional: Explore other links)
  4. Go back to the main page and take the Guided Tour (link from lower left of main page). When you reach the bottom of each Guided Tour page, click on "Next" to continue the Guided Tour.  This should familiarize you with the way the site is organized, how to search it, and what the terminology used in searching means.
  5.  Spend some time browsing through the website, but please do not read any hints, answers, or solutions.
  6.  Find several problems, meeting both of the following two requirements, that you would like to lead the class in solving:
i.    They have duration "part of a lesson"
ii.    They are new problems to you.

    7. Email your short list to the rest of the class. (You should be able to do this through Blackboard.)  Please copy me.

II. Start this September 9 or sooner:

    Check your email. See if any of the problems proposed by other students match any of yours. Work among yourselves by email or otherwise so that by the time you come to class on Tuesday, September 11, you have formed pairs of students to work together to lead the class on problems or problem sequences (one problem  or sequence per pair) and have agreed on the order in which the pairs will present their problems. (Depending on the problems, each pair might use one whole class or part of a class.)