Text set 2: Pascal's Triangle

Research papers:

• Pascal's Triangle; The Many Tricks Held Within by Mary Daughtry, 2010

A research paper looking into the different uses for Pascal's Triangle extending to probability
http://education.uncc.edu/cstem/sites/education.uncc.edu.cstem/files/media/SV/2010/ME/Mary%20Margaret%20Daughtry-%20Pascal's%20Triangle-%20The%20Many%20Tricks%20H.pdf

Informative sites

• Montclair; Pascal's Triangle

This is a cool informative site.  There are links on the left that guide you through the article starting with an introduction, patterns, then applications.
http://pages.csam.montclair.edu/~kazimir/conclusion.html

• Mathisfun.com

This site is chock full of examples and explanations on how Pascal's Triangle works
http://www.mathsisfun.com/pascals-triangle.html

• Binomial Theorem and Pascal's Triangle

This is a stepped out introduction to pascals triangle and even explains in detail how to find the nth terms coefficient.

http://mathematics.laerd.com/maths/binomial-theorem-intro.php
Books:

• Pascal's Arithmetical Triangle by A. W. F. Edwards 

Looks into the historical development of Pascal's Triangle and further explains the how, what, and why's

Articles:

• Exploring Pascal's Triangle by Tom Davis

An article" intertwining pedagogical advice with mathematics" leading students into discovery
http://www.geometer.org/mathcircles/pascal.pdf

• Encyclopedia Brittanica; Pascal's Triangle by William Hosch

A brief history and background of Pascal's Triangle including a brief description of how the arrays work
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/445453/Pascals-triangle

• Mathematical Association of America Patterns in Pascal's Triangle by Kathleen Shannon and Michael Bardzell

A deeper look into the many patterns and gems that Pascal's Triangle illuminates
http://www.maa.org/publications/periodicals/loci/joma/patterns-in-pascals-triangle-with-a-twist-introduction

• Mathematics in School: v36 no2 Pascal's Pupils by Paul Stephenson

This article addresses the importance of student discovery and that our students may even discover things we are unaware of.  Suggests a method to use with Pascal's triangle to assist in enabling discovery

• Mathematics in School: v 26 no2 Spinning Beyond Pascal's Triangle by Chris Grover

This article takes Pascal's Triangle and applies it to probabilities, showing yet another useful take on the Triangle.

Lessons:

• Ezine Pascal's Triangle and Binomial Expansion by Alec Shute

An explanation of how to expand binomials using Pascal's Theorem.  Although this is not technically a lesson, I felt it fit better under this category.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Pascals-Triangle-and-the-Binomial-Expansion&id=7297721

Number patterns in Pascal's Triangle by Ulysses Harrison  This is a lesson plan used to help students recognize the number patterns found in Pascal's Triangle

http://mypages.iit.edu/~smile/ma9408.html

• Teacher's Institute: Exploring Pascal's Triangle and other Recursive Patterns by Carole Bersani

Gives an introduction and brief historical connection as well as 3 lesson plans to teach Pascal's Triangle by recognizing patterns
http://www.cfep.uci.edu/uci-sati/faculty/carole_bersani_full.html

Study skills

I am realizing more and more everyday that students in high school lack the necessary study skills to be successful.  We as teachers are not only teaching our content specific area; math, foreign language, science, etc., however are also teaching reading & writing skills, and study skills.  The readings for this week provided some practical techniques to present to our students to help them master the material. Two techniques in particular that stood out to me included the split-verbatim technique and the I-search paper.  I used a modified version of the split verbatim technique while in college; while I didn't divide my paper in half for note-taking, I did review my notes and make comments are rewrite something in my own words.  I think this technique would be very beneficial for students in a highschool am class, because sometimes you need to rewrite things in a context you understand.  The I-paper technique, I was truly intrigued by.  I feel students would be more motivated to complete a research paper if they are able to step outside the use of traditional research methods.  I also feel students would have a greater appreciation for the topic as they go and do field research.  I'm not sure how I would use this last one in a math context, unless I asked the students to research real world applications of a given topic...then, they may be able to do a little field research asking various professionals to describe the mathematics they use in their profession.

Web Review 2

http://www.regentsprep.org/Regents/math/algtrig/Games/algebra2games.htm

I did a search for Algebra 2 interactive resources and came across the Regents Test prep.

The target age group is High school students, Sophomore-Senior.

This could be a resource site for both students and teachers.  The Algebra 2 portion gave interactive games related to evaluating functions, quadratic functions, simplifying radical expression, and solving absolute value inequalities and graphs.

I did not note any cross curricular connections.

The site is free of ads and does not cost anything to access (BONUS!!)

When I navigated to the home page of the site, there were a multitude of practice examples for many different content areas; math, science, and U.S. history.

I don't find that adult supervision would be required to utilize this site.

Motivating readers

  In reading the article on motivating readers, I found some very interesting information to help me understand my oldest daughters lack of desire for reading and to help my youngest daughter develop better reading skills.  I can relate with the authors findings that students generally rated themselves low in reading ability on the survey yet during interviews they stated many types of texts that they enjoyed reading.  My oldest daughter claims to dislike reading, yet I find her reading many types of texts on a regular basis; researching topics online, cookbooks, and two of her favorite series, Baby Mouse and The Homework Machine.  I find myself consistently puzzled at her claim that she dislikes reading.  I have reason to believe that she claims to dislike reading when it becomes something she has to do, rather than when she wants to.  My youngest daughter struggles with reading comprehension and recollection.  Based on the article, if I provide both my daughters with text that I know they are interested in, then I can not only improve comprehension, but increase the frequency of their reading.
 As teachers, especially in a world filled with resources; both electronic and print, we need to access a variety of resources to give students options to find text that interests them.  It's not that students do not like reading however they do not like what they are reading.  The next big question is how can we get students more interested in academic reading?  I think finding articles with grade appropriate, academic language related to students interests would be a start.  Also, the authors mention reading aloud to students to encourage academic reading comprehension.  Overall, I think the article helped me to make sense of current reading issues I have in my own home, and as a teacher helped me to understand why student's claim they do not like reading.