The kind of task we ask our learners to engage in algebra communicates particular notions of algebra and with it particular use of variable. There are at least four conceptions of algebra embedded in the curriculum. These are reflected in the tasks in textbooks and in our lessons. Zalman Usiskin proposed the following conceptions of algebra in school mathematics. These are present in the curriculum in varying degrees. Continue reading “Different conceptions of algebra”
Tag: meaning of variables
What is a variable (in mathematics)?
A variable is often talked about in mathematics class as a symbol that stands for numbers. As Prof Zalman Usiskin reminds us, a variable need not only stand for numbers. In Geometry it could stand for a point in Logic, a proposition, in Analysis, a function, in Linear Algebra, a matrix or a vector and even an operation in Higher mathematics. Continue reading “What is a variable (in mathematics)?”