Every student asks "Why is negative times negative positive?" Have you developed a beautiful and mathematically solid answer to this question that adequately answers your students' concerns?Â
How about explaining why we can't divide by zero or why raising a quantity to the zeroth power should be 1? Why do we "flip and multiply" when dividing fractions? Who chose the number 360 for the count of degrees in a circle? Should we work with pi or tau?Â
Â
There are so many questions!Â
Â
In this 90-minute session, James will go through all the tough questions students naturally--and rightly--ask that are surprisingly thorny and deep and offer his mathematical advice on how to address them. He'll address any questions you choose to bring that have put you in a mathematical pickle in front of your students! This event is designed for math teachers & parents, but anyone who hopes to get better at answering students' tricky math questions is welcome to attend.
James Tanton