SEMINAR PROFILE

M05 -
The Big Ideas of Algebra: What Students Really Need to Know

Current algebra teaching often emphasizes the idea of a function from multiple viewpoints. In this seminar we will focus on the symbolic aspect, discussing what it means for students to acquire symbolic literacy. We will highlight the algebraic concepts that are essential for procedural fluency and for success in college. Common misconceptions about functions, expressions, equations, and equivalence will give us a window into student thinking. The seminar will give participants the opportunity to construct questions that probe student understanding and to develop examples that demonstrate why algebra has earned such a large role in the school curriculum.

Scholar:

Deborah Hughes Hallett

Location:

Harvard Hillel

Dates:

11/7/2008, 11/14/2008

M05 -	The Big Ideas of Algebra: What Students Really Need to Know

	Current algebra teaching often emphasizes the idea of a function from multiple viewpoints. In this seminar we will focus on the symbolic aspect, discussing what it means for students to acquire symbolic literacy. We will highlight the algebraic concepts that are essential for procedural fluency and for success in college. Common misconceptions about functions, expressions, equations, and equivalence will give us a window into student thinking. The seminar will give participants the opportunity to construct questions that probe student understanding and to develop examples that demonstrate why algebra has earned such a large role in the school curriculum.

		Scholar:	Deborah Hughes Hallett
		Location:	Harvard Hillel
		Dates:	11/7/2008, 11/14/2008