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Learning About Spatial Relationships Boosts Understanding of Numbers

By Guest PostJune 18, 2012Sciencearithmetic, calculation, elizabeth gunderson, geometry, gerardo ramirez, jason smith, linear number, math problems, mathematics, number knowledge, number line, numerical representations, objects, puzzles, sian beilock, spatial learning, spatial relationships, spatial skill, stem, Technology, university of chicago

Children who are skilled in understanding how shapes fit together to make recognizable objects also have an advantage when it comes to learning the number line and solving math problems, research at the University of Chicago shows.

The work is further evidence of the value of providing young children with early opportunities in spatial learning, which contributes to their ability to mentally manipulate objects and understand spatial relationships, which are important in a wide range of tasks, including reading maps and graphs and understanding diagrams showing how to put things together. Those skills also have been shown to be important in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. (more…)

Playing the Odds to Your Favor

By Guest PostApril 25, 2012Educationamerica, applied stochastic processes, area, average, China, chinese native, energy, evaluation, flinn scholarship, galileo circle, ireland, jason xu, kevin lin, knowledge, mathematical statistics, mathematics, ming xu, monte carlo method, physics, population, probability distribution, queen's university belfast, random sample, research, tucson, ua student, university of arizona, Wuhan

UA student Jason Xu has been recognized by the College of Science for his undergraduate research.

Wuhan, China and Tucson, Ariz.: These cities are thousands of miles apart, but they have one commonality – University of Arizona student Jason Xu.

A Chinese native and mathematics senior in the Honors College, Xu was selected as the recipient of this year’s Excellence in Undergraduate Research award by the UA College of Science at its Galileo Circle reception event.

The award “is a huge honor and means a lot to me. I feel really good to be representing the math department,” Xu said. (more…)

Helping Women Faculty Navigate ‘Career Pressure Points’

By Guest PostMarch 23, 2012Scienceastronomy, coming of age, dark matter, ethical integrity, form of matter, gender matters, hellen hom diamond, India, local government, mary miller, massachusetts institute of technology, mathematics, MIT, model, monster black holes, parity as practice, physics, pipeline parity, president levin, priyamvada natarajan, probability, provost salovey, saybrook college, systemic barrier, trinity college, universe, woman in science, yale

As a professor of astronomy and physics, Priyamvada Natarajan doesn’t balk at taking risks. She has modeled the upper limits of “monster” black holes and analyzed the consistency of dark matter. As a theorist, she notes, intellectual risk is par for the course.

But as a woman in science, risk-taking has another meaning, she says. Studying in a predominantly male field, Natarajan considers herself fortunate to have been surrounded by exceptional mentors throughout her career. She recognizes that her experience was an unusual one. Many of her female classmates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) did not receive the same level of encouragement to continue their studies and research, she notes. (more…)

MU Psychology Study Finds Key Early Skills for Later Math Learning

By Guest PostJuly 15, 2011Educationcomplex math, david geary, elementary school years, fractions and algebra, good foundation, good head start, growth in mathematics, low level arithmetic, math learning, math skills, mathematics, psychologists, understanding numbers and quantity, united states, university of missouri

*Long-term study shows students must know about numbers at beginning of first grade*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Psychologists at the University of Missouri have identified the beginning of first grade math skills that teachers and parents should target to effectively improve children’s later math learning.

A long-term psychology study indicates that beginning first graders that understand numbers, the quantities those numbers represent, and low-level arithmetic will have better success in learning mathematics through the end of fifth grade, and other studies suggest throughout the rest of their lives. (more…)

How Nature’s Patterns Form

By Guest PostFebruary 23, 2011Nature, Sciencealan newell, applied stress, bracts, d'arcy wentworth thompson, evolution, fingerprints, florets, flower arrangements, flowers, good poem, how plants grow, leopards, mari n jensen, mathematical biologist, mathematical models, mathematics, on growth and form, patterns, sand ripples, stickers, the universal nature of fibonacci patterns, universal features

*Alan Newell, a UA mathematics professor, studies patterns in nature, which he said have features that are universal*

When people on airplanes ask Alan Newell what he works on, he tells them “flower arrangements.”

He could also say “fingerprints” or “sand ripples” or “how plants grow.” (more…)

New Report Summarizes Key Themes in American Doctoral Education

By Guest PostDecember 5, 2010Culture, Educationamerican system of doctoral education, doctoral education system, doctorate recipients, engineering, mathematics, microsoft excel, pdf, portable document format, Science, sed, stem, stem pipeline, subra suresh, survey of earned doctorates, Technology, united states, universities, us universities

*Summary report, “Doctorate Recipients from United States Universities: 2009” is available online*

A new report recently released by the National Science Foundation, titled “Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2009,” presents a statistical overview of the U.S. doctoral education system in snapshots and long-term trends.

It notes the American system of doctoral education is widely considered the world’s best, as evidenced by the large number of international students who choose to pursue a doctorate at U.S. universities. But this status is subject to the many factors that shape U.S. doctoral education. (more…)

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