Approaching Precalculus Mathematics Discretely introduces concepts of discrete mathematics through the computer, making them easier to teach and more fun to learn. Philip Lewis shows how this can be accomplished using the Logo language to apply and explore much of the material in standard high school advanced algebra and precalculus programs. He develops sophisticated programming techniques in conjunction with mathematical concepts that make the book a model for teachers looking for ways to integrate computers into the mathematics curriculum. The opening chapter introduces the use of Logo to express a variety of basic mathematical functions. The next four chapters broaden the discussion to include elementary vector operations, in the plane and linear transformations and matrix operations defined as vector-valid functions. Chapter 4 applies the theory of linear transformations to the mapping of two dimensional geometric objects drawn on the computer screen. Chapter 5 takes up mathematical induction and recursion. This allows the transformation theory of chapter 4 to be extended to wire frame objects in space that are projected on the computer screen. Chapter 7 constructs a graphing utility that is used in subsequent chapters to examine the graphs of a variety of functions and to introduce the concept of a limit. This extends to an intuitive introduction to slope and the derivative in order to establish a territory for the calculus. The two chapters that follow examine the traditional cyclic functions from a graphic and transformational point of view. The book concludes by outlining explorations of topics from earlier chapters. Philip G. Lewis teaches mathematics and computer science at Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School in Sudbury Massachusetts. Approaching Precalculus Mathematics Discretely is included in the series Exploring with Logo, edited by E. Paul Goldenberg.

These original essays summarize a decade of fruitful research and curriculum development using the LISP-derived language Logo. They discuss a range of issues in the areas of curriculum, learning, and mathematics, illustrating the ways in which Logo continues to provide a rich learning environment, one that allows pupil autonomy within challenging mathematical settings.Essays in the first section discuss the link between Logo and the school mathematics curriculum, focusing on the ways in which pupils' Logo activities relate to and are influenced by the ideas they encounter in the context of school algebra and geometry. In the second section the contributions take up pedagogical styles and strategies. They tackle such cognitive and metacognitive questions as, What range of learning styles can the Logo setting accommodate? How can teachers make sense of pupils' preferred strategies? And how can teachers help students to reflect on the strategies they are using? Returning to the mathematical structures, essays in the third section consider a variety of mathematical ideas, drawing connections between mathematics and computing and showing the ways in which constructing Logo programs helps or does not help to illuminate the underlying mathematics.

This book challenges some of the conventional wisdoms on the learning of mathematics. The authors use the computer as a window onto mathematical meaning-making. The pivot of their theory is the idea of webbing, which explains how someone struggling with a new mathematical idea can draw on supportive knowledge, and reconciles the individual's role in mathematical learning with the part played by epistemological, social and cultural forces.

This book comprises the full selected Regular Lectures from the Proceedings of the 12th International Congress on Mathematical Education (ICME-12), which was held at COEX in Seoul, Korea, from July 8th to 15th, 2012. ICME-12 brought together 4700 experts from 100 countries, working to understand all of the intellectual and attitudinal challenges in the subject of mathematics education as a multidisciplinary research and practice. These selected Regular Lectures present the work of fifty-one prominent mathematics educators from all over the globe. The Lectures cover a wide spectrum of topics, themes and issues and aim to give direction to future research towards educational improvement in the teaching and learning of mathematics education. This book is of particular interest to researchers, teachers and curriculum developers in mathematics education.

"Approaching Precalculus Mathematics Discretely introduces concepts of discrete mathematics through the computer, making them easier to teach and more fun to learn. Philip Lewis shows how this can be accomplished using the Logo language to apply and explore much of the material in standard high school advanced algebra and precalculus programs. He develops sophisticated programming techniques in conjunction with mathematical concepts that make the book a model for teachers looking for ways to integrate computers into the mathematics curriculum. The opening chapter introduces the use of Logo to express a variety of basic mathematical functions. The next four chapters broaden the discussion to include elementary vector operations, in the plane and linear transformations and matrix operations defined as vector-valid functions. Chapter 4 applies the theory of linear transformations to the mapping of two dimensional geometric objects drawn on the computer screen. Chapter 5 takes up mathematical induction and recursion. This allows the transformation theory of chapter 4 to be extended to wire frame objects in space that are projected on the computer screen. Chapter 7 constructs a graphing utility that is used in subsequent chapters to examine the graphs of a variety of functions and to introduce the concept of a limit. This extends to an intuitive introduction to slope and the derivative in order to establish a territory for the calculus. The two chapters that follow examine the traditional cyclic functions from a graphic and transformational point of view. The book concludes by outlining explorations of topics from earlier chapters. Philip G. Lewis teaches mathematics and computer science atLincoln Sudbury Regional High School in Sudbury Massachusetts. "Approaching Precalculus Mathematics Discretely" is included in the series Exploring with Logo, edited by E. Paul Goldenberg.