Numberlines: Hockey Line Nicknames Based on Jersey Numbers

The purpose of this article, in general, is to expound Chernoff’s (2016) notion of numberlines, that is, hockey line nicknames based on jersey numbers. The article begins with a brief discussion of the history of hockey line nicknames, which allows for the parsing of numberlines and quasi-numberlines (nicknames based on numbers associated with hockey players). Focusing, next, on jersey number restrictions for the National Hockey League (NHL), a repeated calculation of the number of possible numberlines winnows down the number from a theoretical upper bound to a practical upper bound. Moving beyond the numbers, the names of natural numbers – those with a certain panache (e.g., Untouchable, McNugget, Frugal, Hoax, Narcissistic, Unhappy, Superperfect and Powerul numbers) – act as a gateway to the notion of numberlining, the process of attempting to coin a numberline. Two particular examples, The Powers Line and The Evil Triplets provide a window into the process of numberlining. Prior to concluding remarks, which explain how numberlines and numberlining fall in line with the NHL’s recent embrace of fans’ use of social media, the article details how adopting hockey line nicknames based on jersey numbers can be used as a possible venue to rename questionable hockey line nicknames

Lessons Learned from the Disorder of Operations

The purpose of this article, in general, is to explore certain possible outcomes associated with an underaged gambler attempting to collect his rightful winnings. More specifically, this article is a thought experiment investigating the union of (1) skill testing questions, (2) the equation that recently broke/divided the internet, and (3) how different outcomes render different elements of the thought experiment moot. For example, when the final arbiter has total dominion over a particular outcome, the mathematics of a skill testing question is rendered moot. The article concludes with a discussion revealing how disorder of operations could be considered the teaching and learning of mathematics version of other famous controversial issues (e.g., gun control, animal rights, welfare, etc.) found in society

Solving Equations: A Make-Work Project for Math Teachers and Students

The purpose of this article is to share a particular view that I have towards solving equations in the school mathematics classroom. Specifically, I contend that solving equations in the math classroom is a make-work project for math teachers and students. For example, math teachers take a predetermined value that makes a statement true, and then proceed to make it harder and harder and harder for their students to determine the value that makes the statement true. However, math teachers do so with the explicit purpose of teaching their students how to reveal the solution that they themselves have concealed. Stated in make-work project parlance, the math teacher digs a hole with the explicit purpose of teaching, then having the students fill the hole that they dug

Hockey Card Statistics Are Stagnant and Stale

The purchase of a coffee at a Canadian institution, Tim Hortons, turned into an informal investigation into hockey card statistics. Turns out, hockey card statistics are stagnant and stale. This was disappointing to see because the game of hockey has changed, the statistics used to keep track of the game have changed. Even the cards have changed. Well, not the back of the cards, which do not well enough paint a statistical picture of the hockey player photographed on the front of the card

Seeking more than nothing: Two elementary teachers conceptions of zero

Zero is a complex and important concept within mathematics, yet prior research has demonstrated that students, pre-service teachers, and teachers all have misconceptions about and/or lack of knowledge of zero. Using a hermeneutic approach based upon Gadamer’s philosophy, this study examined how two elementary mathematics teachers understand zero and how and when zero enters into their teaching of mathematics. The results of this study add new insights into the understandings of teachers and students related to zero and the origins, relationships between, and consequences of those understandings. Significant gaps and misconceptions within both teachers’ understandings of zero suggest the need for pre-service education programs to bring attention to the development of a more complete and meaningful understanding of zero

A Formula for Success? An Examination of Factors Contributing to Quebec Students’ Strong Achievement in Mathematics

As the only province having achieved significantly above the Canadian average in the latest PISA assessment, and with an average score that was surpassed by only five other participating countries, Quebec has recently taken centre stage as Canada’s superstar in the teaching and learning of mathematics. However, there has been relatively little research surrounding why Quebec students have been consistently successful in their mathematical endeavours. In this essay, the authors examine several possible influences, including ample opportunities for students to participate in recreational mathematics activities, an emphasis on problem solving, intensive teacher education programs, and active mathematics teacher associations. Our aim is to begin a conversation surrounding the following question: What can we, as mathematics teachers, learn from our neighbours in la belle province

Si ganase la lotería, yo…

III Congreso Internacional Virtual de Educación Estadística (CIVEEST), 21-24 febrero de 2019. [www.ugr.es/local/fqm126/civeest.html]This article is an exploration of the work-related consequences of me winning the lottery. As detailed, depending on which lottery I hypothetically won would dictate whether or not I quit my job. In the one scenario where I do quite my day job, I imagine a scenario where I look back at an interrupted career in probability (and statistics) education. Topics pondered include: gambling education, seminal articles, the changing nature of publication and conference travel, the old guard of stochastics education, missed opportunities (e.g., sports analytics education and consequential probability) and the grand narrative of school mathematics.Este artículo explora las consecuencias relativas al trabajo si ganase la lotería. Como se detalla, dependiendo de qué lotería gane hipotéticamente, dependerá de si dejo o no mi trabajo. En un escenario en que deje mi trabajo diario, imagino un escenario en que miro una carrera ininterrumpida en educación en probabilidad (y estadística). Los temas posibles incluyen: educación para el juego, artículos seminales, naturaleza cambiante de las publicación y viaje a conferencias, la vieja guardia de la educación estocástica, oportunidades perdidas (e.g., educación analítica deportiva y probabilidades consecuentes) y la gran narrativa de la matemática escolar