Teaching degrees and certifications

The site teacherdegrees.com has plenty of references.
Site map.
Good starting point.
and for Math Teacher info look here.

CAT- comprehensive assessment test

Link to Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment tests with correct answers.
Sample Student Work and Scoring Guides
Downloadpdf file with Massachusetts CAT test
Florida sample CAT
Test is too tough for sometoo tough for some
Florida CAT explorer


Open Directory Project Presented by the Edvisors Network
helpfull testing links
Question Base 2.0 by Michael Smith
- a questions editor and tester. You can design your own tests using it.
It has support for variables, so that numeric questions can change every time you ask them. The answers to such questions can contain expressions that are evaluated on the basis of the variables in the question. And it's free...

Teacher job interview? It's teacher style profile prescreening!

So you want to be a teacher? You think you need to be ready for an Interview. First better be ready for teacher style profile prescreening! It's about 30 questions in 15 minutes. No time to think! They want your subconscious response. Like in the heat of the moment!
To give you an idea - it's all about teacher - kids - principal triangle. Will you handle kids yourself or will you let principal deal with them and their parents? Not subject related at all!
Be aware that results of this 15 minutes test will stay on your record for 2 (yes two) years! And you can't see them!
I'm glad I read the book by Mike Kelley rookie teaching for dummies before taking this test.
more interview tips
Tips by Educational placement Service

Student Assessment by OECD's PISA

This is in the news. Kids' math scores country by country.
And the winners are ?
You guessed it right! The patient folks!
Korea and Finland

Institute of Internet History - a non-profit, non-governmental, non-organization

Do you know what "ping" is all about?
According to Institute of Internet History also known as "non-organization" back in 1902 poor kids cleaning rusty pipes were called "pings".

To keep the rust at bay, network operators and service providers employed young boys, and sometimes girls, to run through the pipes with stout wire brushes to remove built-up deposits. These boys and the runs they made were referred to colloquially as "pings" due to the noise they made by tapping their brushes on the inside of the pipe at each joint to indicate their progress. The term "ping" is still used today to refer to a method of ensuring that a route on the Internet is available and not clogged.

Logarithmic Maps of the Universe

Here it is !
Enjoy the trip!

Nine-year-old invented term googol

It's incredible how much kids contribute to math!
As story goes term googol for number 10 to the power of 100 was coined by Milton Sirotta then nine year old nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner.
A googol is greater than the number of particles in the known universe!
And what is googolplex, 10 to the power of googol?

Math Forum on Googol Googolplex and others
Wikipedia on Names of large numbers
Wolfram's Mathworld on Large Numbers

Human brain held about 200 megabytes of information

Back in 1986 Tom Landauer concluded that the human brain can held about 200 megabytes of information. He got this number by estimating the rate at which people take in information and the rate at which people forget things.

And hard drive on my computer is 100 gigabytes! Now you see why title of my blog is "Things to remember"!

With about 6 billion people on Earth the total memory of humans now alive is about 1,200 petabytes. The Library of Congress is about 2-3 petabystes.

As far as processing power goes prof. George Miller estimated that our brain can handle five to nine thoughts at once. Read more about human mind

References:
T. K. Landauer How much do people remember? Some estimates of the quantity of learned information in long-term memory, Cognitive Science, 10 (4) pp. 477-493 (Oct-Dec 1986).

Michael Lesk How Much Information Is There In the World?

Philip and Phylis Morrison The Sum of Human Knowledge?

Big numbers in your hands: Rubik's cube

Rubik's cube is a good teaching tool for two reasons:
- it has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 different positions (~ 43 quintillion) and can be a good example of a huge number right in the students hands.
- solution of the puzzle was discovered (among others) by then a 12 year-old schoolboy from Britain Patrick Bossert
Can you top this inspirational toy ?

Teach For America

Should I join Teach for America?

Fractal Dimension

Check out explanation of a fractal dimensions based on the following definition of a dimension of a self-similar object. The dimension is an exponent of the number of self-similar pieces with magnification factor N into which the figure may be broken.
Hope this make sense for you. ;-).
Sierpinski triangles can help you visualize the concept.

Math, Music and Dance

Math and music harmony close relations are well known.
On Math forum Julie Strandberg claims math connection to dance too.
Since dance can be recorded as a plot then it should be possible to use math to analyze it! It's just a function!
This dance movement documenting system is called labanotation and used to archive popular dances and entire ballets.
Dance can be used to teach math!

Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education

Here is a free issue of Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education published by Kluwer.

Powerpoint and Macromedia flush lessons on the Web

Both Powerpoint and Macromedia flush lessons are great teaching tools!
This site sells powerpoint math lessons.
These movies shows family of hyperboloids and the 4th dimension. Davide Cervone production.

Was Mathematics Invented or Discovered?

Here is one view.
Here is a brief math history overview. This is in fact huge math history site! It has even clickable maps of mathematicians birthplaces!

Mathematics Pronunciation Guide

This guideincludes most mathematicians and mathematical terms that may been encountered in high school and the first two years of college.

Do you say "two thousand three" or "two thousand and three" when you talking about 2003?
Talking about numbers is not easy! Top 10 APA Trouble Spots
Check out this discussion with Dr. Math at Math forum.
Of course it depends whom you are talking to.
To check how it will sound in Brithish English, American English, Australian English, Canadian English, Irish English, Scottish English and Welsh English go to fonetiks.org
Still confused? Then use Merriam-Webster dictionary pronunciation!

The Mathematics Contests on the Web

This is on going math contest for students! List of old problems is available too! Students submitting correct solutions will have their name, school, and location displayed on that contest's site.
Look here for more links to Math contests sites.
Or you can go directly to White House website for more problems submitted by David Rock from University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Doug Brumbaugh from University of Central Florida


Oracle ThinkQuest contest with a variety of prizes. Teachers can coach teams of 3 to 6 students, ages 9 to 19. Teams have 6 months to build a website on any topic within one of the official competition categories. In math they have already Algebra (23) Arithmetic (60) Calculus (11) Chaos Theory (6) Fractals (9) Geometry (26) Puzzles (6)Statistics (2) and Trigonometry (2).
Some are very creative!

Reviews of math textbooks

I was about to write reviews on some math books I had used when I discovered this site.
Here is the list of the books I had on my desk at that time

Peterson's Get Wise! Mastering Math Word Problems by Maureen Steddin
and here is a link to a good source of the world problems


Math coach. A parent's guide to helping children to succeed in Math by Wayne & Ingrid Wickelgren


Calculus by P.Abbot, revised by Hugh Neill


Barron's Review Course Series. Let's Review: Math B by Lawrence Leff

Mike Kelley holds this web page together with aluminum foil and chewing gum

Serious help on how to teach calculus for the calculus phobe. Lessons are presented as a flush movie with a verbal narrative. Simply the best I found on the web so far!
Has very helpful search that works great. You can also use alphabetical index to navigate the site.
Mike Kelley's site impressive collection of awards and recognitions
Good stuff indeed!

More K-8 math lessons on the web

This is AAA math website.
Covers many topics taught at kindergarten and up to 8th grade.
There are lessons on consumer math too. For example
how to calculate tip.

Teaching Philosophy

Detailed Statement on Teaching Philosophy by Andrew V. Knyazev who is with Department of Mathematics at University of Colorado at Denver. Here is his approach to testing:

I open each session with a brief reminder of the previous session's material and an outline of the day's topic, and I typically conclude with a summary of key points. There is a special session for review before every major test. I usually speak clearly, loudly, and slowly, but enthusiastically. Students are encouraged to learn from each other as their grades are not curved, thus, students are not competing with their classmates. In some classes, I give group projects and homework. When possible, I distribute solutions to homework problems, quizzes, and tests. To reduce students' anxiety about tests, I make old exams available on the Web, and often give practice tests. I usually give a test on prerequisites during the first week of the course. I do not consider memorization to be the most important in math courses; all my tests are open book/notes. Assignments and projects are naturally integrated into my courses. I spend time explaining the assignments and solving similar problems in class for further discussion.

My first interview for math teacher job.

I had my first interview for a math teacher position. Besides common personal questions I was grilled on my lesson plans and how I will spend 75 minute lesson time minute by minute. My IT credentials where of help of course but lack of teaching experience showed, especially when some visual aid tools were discussed. In upcoming blog posts I’ll talk more about lesson plans.

What issues should a teacher think about before a job interview? I wish I had found this site before! Especially discussions on changing career from an engineer to a teacher.

Update
I lost it! I shoot myself in the foot, saying “math lessons might be boring at times". Never ever boring! You are entertainer/teacher! Not exactly stand up comedy but close! Each time you want to say boring simply say interesting (but not exiting!). You will do yourself great service by changing your vocabulary a bit.

The Chicago Sun-Times about teachers certifications

It's interesting reading about:
Teacher shortage at 'crisis' level
5,243 Illinois teachers failed key exams
Kids take the test, say it's too easy
Why are teacher tests secret?
Tips for parents who want to know about a teacher's state certificate
Teachers who barely passed the Basic Skills test
and more ...

ADHD rating scale

I found this post on assigned seat blog:" I was just given a form I'd never seen before. It's entitled "ADHD RATING SCALE IV - SCHOOL EDITION." I am to return it completed concerning a student in about an hour. There are 18 different statements concerning behavior and a scale of 0, 1, 2, and 3.
0 == "never or rarely" 1 == "sometimes" 2 == "often" 3 == "very often"

1. Fails to give close attention to details or makes careless mistakes in schoolwork.
2. Fidgets with hands or feet or squirms in seat
3. Has difficulty sustaining attentino in tasks or play activities.
4. Leaves seat in classroom or in other situations in which remaining seated is expected.
5. Does not seem to listen when spoken to directly
6. Runs about or climbs excessively in situations in which it is inappropriate
7. Does not follow through on instructions and fails to finish work.
8. Has difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly.
9. Has difficulty organizing tasks and activities.
10. Is "on the go" or acts as if "driven by a motor."
11. Avoids tasks (e.g. schoolwork, homework) that require sustained mental effort.
12. Talks excessively.
13. Loses things necessary for tasks or activities.
14. Blurts out answers before questions have been completed.
15. Is easily distracted.
16. Has difficulty awaiting turn.
17. Is forgetful in daily activities.
18. Interrupts or intrudes on others"

Good reminder that it's all about child... and teacher's "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder".

Tasteful selection of internet math sites

This page is the handiwork of Fred Koch. He reviewed hundreds of internet math sites and selected those he considered the best.
Another good place to look will be Exworthy Educational Links
Site has a lot up to date links to Middle/High School Math,
lesson plans for all subjects and grades, education related news and much more... Highly recommended first stop on the web!

Something is wrong with these triangles...or is it?

How did it happen? Dare to comment?

...and the winner is ... news.yahoo.com

As polls were closing across the US I was following presidential election results on the web and found out that the best site with the up to the minute detailed info was news.yahoo.com/elections/
CNN was only distant second.
The small sites like uselectionatlas.org and wikipedia were only third.
I also found out interesting site that monitors blogs on the web technorati.com. It gives up to the minute picture on what is hot and what is not.
The best prediction of the election outcome was at the strategisphere.com even so they got Ohio wrong.

Two logicians

Two perfect logicians, Sam and Peter, are told that integers x and y have been chosen such that 1 < x < y and x+y < 100. Sam is given the value x+y and Peter is given the value xy. They then have the following conversation.

Peter: I cannot determine the two numbers.
Sam: I knew that.
Peter: Now I can determine them.
Sam: So can I.

Given that the above statements are true, what are the two numbers? (Computer assistance allowed.)

Mathematica on The Web

Wikipedia
The free dictionary
Timeline of Mathematics
Wolfram's Mathworld
Milestones in the History of Thematic Cartography, Statistical Graphics, and Data Visualization
More links here!

Importance of teamwork

In a cliche effort to illustrate the importance of teamwork-oriented problem solving, the Boss has chained Dilbert to Carol The Secretary via wire wrapped around their wrists, as shown in the following snapshot:

The goal is for Dilbert and Carol to unlink themselves from each other; considering what a horrible woman Carol is, Dilbert wouldn't have it any other way. The wire is unbreakable, and as much as Dilbert would like to saw off Carol's limbs, that's against company policy. How can Dilbert and Carol get away from each other?

Math Test at BrainBench.com

I used BrainBench in the past to refresh and prove my IT skills.
So I decided to check my Math skills too and it's free!
To my satisfaction did pass it from the first run. Problems are rather simple but time is very limited 45 to 60 seconds. If you have good feeling of the numbers test is easy, but if you need to actually do the math you will fail it because of the time limitations. Great test to wake you up!
Here is my certificate!

The World of Math Online

Yet another great place for:
Algebra Worksheets - Generate your own algebra worksheets to print and use. Includes many options and types of equations, systems, and quadratics.
Free Homework Help
Puzzles, games, and cool math for the classroom.

Teacher resume for career changer

Samples from professional resume services
from CA
from NY

Teacher Forums on WWW

Teachers.net
Florida Teacher to Teacher
A to Z Teacher Stuff
Classroom Management

Incredibly useful teach-nology.com !

site offers FREE access to 27,300 lesson plans, 5,900 printable worksheets, over 200,000 reviewed web sites, rubrics, educational games, teaching tips, advice from expert teachers, current education news, teacher downloads, web quests, and teacher tools for creating exciting classroom instruction.

Gold Membership allows members to download thousands of valuable resources including: activities, 6,560+ worksheets, 281 complete teacher workbooks, PowerPoint® templates, Excel® templates, Word® templates, web graphic sets, music loops, and sound effects.

Platinum Membership allows members to make custom puzzle, rubrics, lesson plans, math sheets, graphic organizers, timelines, and language arts worksheets. Members can save their work on site servers to be accessed and edited at a later date.

ExamBuddy aka Silver membership allows members to create: 40+ online activities, flash learning games, online quizzes, online calendars, printable tests, class web pages, electronic newsletters, learning units, class surveys.

One can have it all with Trilogy membership


Also highly recommended

Teachers.net
Lesson Plans arranged according to the NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics

Mathematics National Learning Standards

Some Examples
Case studies from teachers about implementing standards. (NCREL)
A working draft from NY
Lesson Plans

First Days of School! Classroom Management! Discipline!

I'm really glad I found this website! Here are Common Mistakes!

* Don't Smile 'Till Christmas: Becoming an effective teacher does NOT equal being mean! Students want structure, want to be able to feel comfortable, safe and to know what is expected of them. Refusing to smile does not insure that students will behave or that they will want to learn.

* I Want to Be Their Friend: It is great that you love students and want to be close to them. You may be loving, caring, friendly and sensitive, but do not set a goal to be a friend. They need you to be an adult role model that they can admire and look up to. You are setting yourself up for disaster if this is how you approach your classroom.

* Start the First Day of School with an Activity: Most new teachers are so excited about content and having the students engaged in learning that they forget to spend time teaching students the rules and procedures. The first week of school, elementary or secondary, should be spent getting students accustomed to your expectations for the classroom. Teach them the rules and policies, practice them and review them. You can not spend too much time on this. You will not regret the "lost time."

Also recommended Discipline without Stress® Punishments or Rewards by Dr. Marvin Marshall

collection of links for new teachers

Quote:
"I DID NOT CREATE any of these websites;
I only COLLECTED & ARRANGED the URLs.
I hope you find these teaching websites useful."

The Null Set

Nice site! Plenty of Mathematical puzzles from Princeton Math Club.

School Math on the Web

General Mathematics Sites

Online Help, Tutoring and Other Services

Before Calculus: Arithmetic and Algebra

Geometry

Calculus

Beyond Calculus

Calculators

Mathematics Software, Computer Algebra Systems and Java Applets

Mathematics Journals on the Web

Miscellaneous Mathematics Related Sites

A few good problems

Gradebook Software

Gradekeeper works together with
StarQuiz
to make it easier to give tests and have the results added to your gradebook
Edline and School Center to make it easy to give parents and students secure access to grades online.

Terri Husted's Homepage page for New (And Not So New) Math Teachers

How to Start Making Connections
A Clear Lesson
Classroom Management
Resources for New Math Teachers
Multicultural Mathematics
Other Professional Suggestions
Most Loved Problems
Math Myths
Great Sites for Math Teachers
Cool Science Sites
Best Elementary Sites
Guidelines for Using the Internet
Homework and Assessments
Tons of Data for Statistics Lessons
Math and Science Internet Lessons
Links for Internet Lessons
Math Ties and Math Detective Workbooks to Order
Awards This Page Has Received

Can Math Help in Terror War?

Order theory, a branch of abstract mathematics that deals with hierarchical relationships, could be applied to the war on terrorism.

EarthBrowser for armchair globe-hopping

• Detailed Earth Map
• Weather Forecasts around the globe
• Cloud Animations
• Hundreds of live webcams updating regularly
• Volcanoes
• Live Earthquakes
• Tectonic plate boundaries

Great for curious child!!!

Unauthorized Teaching Materials

These materials meant to seduce students into being curious about science and about everything else.

Sandwich falls by oil downward at the worst posible time.

The team of a mathematician, a psychologist and an economist put into mathematical terms what we all knew:
that things don't just go wrong, they do so at the most annoying moment. The formula,
((U+C+I) x (10-S))/20 x A x1/(1-sin(F/10)),
indicates that to beat Murphy's Law you need to change one of the parameter:
U for urgency,
C for complexity,
I for importance,
S for skill,
F for frequency and
A for aggravation, default value 0.7
In the researchers' own words:
"If you haven't got the skill to do something important, leave it alone.
If something is urgent or complex, find a simple way to do it.
If something going wrong will particularly aggravate you, make certain you know how to do it."
Here is how to use formula:
The equation has seven steps to forecasting a potential Murphy's Law moment, so you can work out which factors you need to change to avoid it:
1. Rate the urgency, importance and complexity on a scale of one to nine and add the three figures together.
2. Rate from one to nine how skilled you are at the task, then subtract this from 10.
3. Multiply answers to 1 and 2 and divide by 20.
4. Rate from one to nine how frequently you perform the task and divide this by 10.
5. Rate the sine (or sin) of your answer to step 4 and subtract this from 1.
6. Divide 1 by your answer to step 5.
7. Multiply your answer to step 3 by 0.7 and multiply this by your answer to step 6, and that's your Murphy’s Law rating.
The closer to 10 it is, the higher your risk of falling victim.
Slashdot.org
Sod's Law: It will go wrong at the worst posible time.
The correct, original Murphy's Law reads: “If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of those ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it.” Murphy's Law
“Finagle's Law of Dynamic Negatives” usually rendered “Anything that can go wrong, will”.Finagle's Law
Wikipedia

Electoral Vote Predictor 2004: Kerry 280 Bush 239

Here is something that is not directly related to my teaching
inspiration but it definitely put things into context...
Electoral Vote Predictor 2004: Kerry 280 Bush 239

paperwork will take 30 days

On Wednesday I got negative reading of my TB skin test which was done on Monday.
On October 6 I submitted all required paperwork for substitute teacher position.
Was told it will take at least 30 days...

My contest to became a teacher started

After some delay and hesitation I finally started my contest to became a teacher....
New profession needs new tools and this blog is one of them...
Here is a link to a similar inspiring and cautionary tale...