Electronic Proceedings
of the 12th Asian Technology Conference in Mathematics
Abstract
for 12860
Learning
Algebra the Creative and Magical Way
Authors: Poh
Yew Teoh
Affiliations: Creative Wizard Pte. Ltd., Malaysian Invention and
Design Society, Malaysian
Association of Professional Speakers
Keywords: ,
algebra, mathematical magic, card tricks, creativity
Algebra seems to be a subject that
some students find it trivial but
most find
it difficult. In order to pursue mathematics to a higher
level,
students must certainly learn to use algebra, but perhaps
first and
foremost they should learn to see it, to discover it, to
play with
it and to be surprised by it. Since our students seldom
see any
application of algebra in their daily life, we, mathematic
educators
can develop their interest in algebra by adopting some
creative
approach such as mesmerizing them with mathematical magic.
Many students have difficulty
making the transition from arithmetic
to
algebra. Often this difficulty first appears when students
attempt to
create algebraic equations to represent word problems. In
this
workshop the participants will discover several amazing
mathematical
magic using Flash and card tricks that can be explained
by
translating the magical phenomena into algebraic terms or
equations.
To further enhance the algebraic concept learnt,
mathematics
educators will see some examples as how we can prompt
students
to invent their own magic or to improve on the existing
magic.
Mathematical Content Covered: "Translating magical phenomena
into
algebraic terms or equations", "Simplifying algebraic
expression",
"Expansion and factorization", "Quadratic equations"
Target audience: Upper primary and
lower secondary schools
mathematics
teachers as well as teacher trainers